Plight of the Falcon
by Divinitas Intereo
Summary: The Falcon has flown alone in a solitary flight for the last few years of his journey, but when two Cranes decide to enter into his life again, his life will be turned upside down as The Falcon goes on what is sure to be the craziest journey of his life.
1. Prologue

Story: Plight of the Falcon

Rating: M for some really fucked up themes, language, and basically everything else. :P

Disclaimer: I've never even used one of these before, but it seems to be the theme to be used in most Power Rangers Fanfiction. Needless to say, I'm posting this story for free on a site that's called " " so it's pretty obvious the copyright to this franchise doesn't belong to me. ;)

Time Frame: Although I've classified this story as a MMPR story, it actually takes place in 2005. Everything in Dino Thunder happened. Aside from making the characters and things that happened to these individuals a little more believable, I haven't tampered with the universe too much. You can consider most of the older Rangers to be around the general ages of 25-26 here in this story.

Dedication: This story is dedicated to White-Knight-1988, Shawn30, Jade-Max, and CrazyGirl47. You guys gave me some awesome fiction to read this past month and a half. Needless to say, I've read every PR story you have written and enjoyed all of them. Thanks for being awesome, and keep writing! (AND FINISH THE STORIES!)

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Prologue

Sam Trueheart stood outside looking up at the sky. All around him nature flourished, and his soul breathed easy; Mother Nature was in balance, and the spirit of the wind blew in crisp, striking currents. It was a testament to the strength of the Falcon, the winged lord of the skies, that he was able to navigate them so well. His flaps were strong, and he held his head up proud before anything that could be thrown at him. The small and gentle smile that formed on Sam's lips brought with it its own sense of peace to the setting.

For so long now, he had watched over the Falcon, the currents of late had been some of the most trying that he had ever seen him have to deal with. Over a year ago, the shifting winds had once again come to trouble the Falcon. The journey the Falcon had to fly was nowhere near as long as the one he had formerly flown, but through it all, the strong flap of his wings was able to bear and uphold the legacy that had been left to him. A sense of pride in the Falcon overcame him, as he watched his flight.

Always, these days, the Falcon flew alone. Over the years of his tenure, he had been accompanied for a length of his long journey, but the Falcon's path was a solitary one. At times the thought of the Falcon's somber journey brought on a sense of pain to Sam's heart. Forever guarding the skies alone, as it seemed, was a life that the Falcon was well suited to. The strain and weight of the whole world had to be a heavy burden, and to have bore it for so long without ever breaking under it; Sam had never known, or been prouder of another.

Looking back on every other one that had helped the Falcon, it wasn't too hard to remember that at one time, The Crane had flown beside him. During those times, the Winged Lord had been almost unstoppable and unwavering in his war. It brought a phantom pain to Sam's heart to know that twice a Crane had come, the first time He gave the crane his heart, only to have her send it back broken and battered—torn. The second Crane had managed to repair it when she came to fly alongside the Falcon, but all too soon she had left the falcon to fly alone once more.

"Don't worry dear friend," The words spoken to the solitary Falcon held a tender quality to them. "Your flight cannot remain as lonely as it has been forever; one day, and I know this to be true, the Crane will return." With a soft smile Sam turned away from watching the Falcon to look to the horizon. The sun was setting, the azure skies casting about a riot of color, using the blue canvas of the sky to create a masterpiece that could only ever be seen once—an amazing act repeated every evening, but completely unique each time. Inhaling the gift of air, Sam blinked his eyes twice, watching the skies. A small smile passed when he noticed the two Cranes flying together again.

It brought warm feelings to his heart for them as well. Although the Falcon flew alone, he could never begrudge the others for what they had to do. Watching as the Cranes continued their flight, he noticed the inseparable bond that the two of them had formed. Once the relationship had been strained between them, but after nesting in the same area for so long, the sense of kinship that flowed between them was impressive.

Looking to their destined flight path, he could see that a reunion with the Falcon was inevitable. The small smile he kept changed into a full one with this turn of events. The Falcon and the Crane had been meant to fly together, and to see both of them returning to the Falcon left hope that this time around, with the age and experience behind them, and the weight of the World not on them, one of the Cranes could take on the weight of the falcons heart.

Deciding to stay to watch the reunion, Sam witnessed both of the Cranes come to fly alongside the Falcon for a moment. They flew one on either side of him, sharing the skies with him—it was a truly beautiful sight. Not long after the reunion with the Falcon though, did a curious thing happen. Latching on to either side of him, the Cranes began to pull at him, both seeking to change his course in an opposite direction from where he was going, not trying to pull him away from the other, but neither trying to share him either—their bond still strong as ever. As Sam continued to watch, The Falcon descended from the skies to land on the ground, the momentary respite from the Cranes a small break for him—until in a flurry of confusion and bizarreness unlike Sam had ever seen The Cranes, along with The Frog, the Bear, the ape, the wolf—who had been gone for so long!, a Saber tooth tiger, mastodon, Tyrannosaurus, And a toy car mimicking the stormblaster, with a yellow crystal inside being driven by young David's younger son came down upon him like a frenzy! Watching with Concern, Sam continued looking in awe—the event was too horrific to turn away from, all the while the pleas off the Falcon could be heard…

In this moment, Sam Trueheart only had one thing to say for the Falcons current predicament,

"Oh, he's so fucked…"

And with that, he turned from the Falcon, leaving him to the care of his friends, and returned to the house. Some trying times were ahead for his dear Falcon.

Trying indeed.

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Hey everyone, it's been awhile since I've posted anything having to do with fanfiction! For the past month and a half now I've been chewing my way through a bunch of Power Rangers fanfiction, and decided to write one of my own. I hope you've enjoyed this little intro, and have sort of caught on to what I'm trying to get across. This is just the prologue right now, but the first chapter is being posted along with it, so there is that. It's good to be back at my roots writing fanfiction instead of just writing original pieces intended for actual publication, so I hope you all like the result of my stressed out mind needing to vent and have some fun.


	2. Act I Pt I

Katherine walked into her loft, throwing her purse to the side of the door, slipping off her heels, and taking off the jacket she had been wearing. The cool air outside the door followed her in for a moment before she managed to shut it and let the warmth of her home comfort her for a second. Looking around, the sight of Kimberly staring at her with a confused expression was something she had been completely expecting. After all, tonight was the night that Jonathan had been waiting for; the last six weeks had been a dance between them, and Kat had boldly proclaimed that she was finally going to attempt to take their relationship to the next level!

Holding up a hand in a stopping motion before Kimberly could dig into her wanting information, Kat walked from the living room, leaving Kimberly on the couch with a spoon in her mouth, the remote in her right hand, and a random channel on their T.V playing. She needed a moment, just one single moment; she also needed two of the most reliable men on the planet. Opening the freezer, Katherine looked around for a second, before looking back at Kim, and down into her lap. There, resting between her legs, were the only two men for her. Grabbing a spoon from their spoon drawer, she walked back into the living room, and plopped down on the couch right next to Kimberly, digging into the Ben & Jerry's she had been looking for, taking one bite, and sighing in momentary contentment.

"That bad huh?"

Barely acknowledging Kim's insightful view into how her night had gone, Katherine simply grunted. Snuggling back into the couch, she took another scoop to bring her back a little before turning toward Kimberly, the former Pink Rangers face concerned, yet kind of jaded at the whole process itself. A sense of familiarity with it self-evident in her eyes.

"You have no idea Kimmie," Watching as Kim hit the off button on the T.V and settled in to hear her story, Kat couldn't help but give a slight smile after the stressful day she had just. It was odd when she thought about the fact that not only was Kimberly and herself one another's closest confidant and friend, but they were also living together, and had been for the past two years.

"Wanna talk about it?" Kat full on smiled as she knew exactly what kind of talking Kimberly meant. Settling in, Kat plopped her feet underneath her, turned towards Kim, and let loose a torrent.

"So, the day starts simple: The plan was that we were going to have dinner, go out dancing, and then go back to his house, right?" With a slight nod from Kim, Kat continued on. "Well, apparently this plan just had to NOT work out since, while we were at dinner, some random woman burst into the restaurant, spots him, and then comes running up towards us, shouting in such a quick string of Romanian and pointing at me that by the time she's finished, everyone in the restaurant is looking at us." The flinch from Kim hadn't been missed—Kat knew that Kim could probably finish this story all on her own—but she needed to vent.

"After a moment, she walks over to him, slaps the shit out of him, drenches him in the bottle of wine he'd ordered, and then turns to me and says, in the worst English accent you can imagine, 'He's all yours slut.'" Taking a slight drink from the glass of wine Kimberly had most likely poured for herself before Kat had gotten here, she set it down and continued on, thankful that her dear Kimberly didn't mind in the least.

"Anyways, after that little show, I ask him what that was about, and it takes him a moment to inform me that he might have forgotten to mention that he'd gotten his last girlfriend pregnant." With a slight chuckle in between her words, Kat took another drink, already noting the look of disgust and slight humor in Kim's eyes. Good, she wasn't the only one to find this new escapade funny.

"So, he tells me that she's just had the baby, and that he's been neglecting to come see it for some time—the date of the poor dears birth had been our first date." Taking one last gulp from the wine, Katherine set the glass down with an exasperated motion, looking over at Kimberly, watching as she took in all the news.

"Is that all that happened?"

"No! After he told me this, I called him a dick and got up to leave, but not before he tried to stop me. The second he put him disgusting hands on me, I turned around and kicked him in the balls, told him he was a disgrace to humanity, and walked out."

"That's my girl!" Kat could only smile and wrap one arm around Kimberly. Kim knew exactly how to handle these situations when Kat needed to vent.

"I swear Kim, it's like there's nothing but pigs and perverts in London!" Taking one of the final scoops of ice cream in the tub, she stuck it in her mouth.

"Make that in the world Kat." Saluting Kim's astute observation with her spoon, Katherine laid her head back on the couch looking up at the ceiling.

"What ever happened to the good, decent men of the world?" The absent minded plea was going to lead into the conversation that always followed the horror stories her and Kim sometimes had to tell each other.

"That's easy, they've gone the way of the dinosaurs; leaving behind less evolved individuals like Craig, Mark, and that SON OF A BITCH SHAWN!" Kat could only giggle at Kim's outburst due to her latest nightmare of a date.

"Now now Kimmie, it's not your fault that he couldn't help but bat for the other team." It was impossible to keep the laughter out of her voice by the end of her sentence, her words almost breaking up with her laughter. Kim's annoyed glance her way helped cut her mirth short. Wrapping Kimberly in a tighter, understanding hug, Kat continued Kim's rampage.

"I know what you mean though, if I had a euro for all the assholes I've dated, I could buy that new Ferrari that I've been wanting." Kim looked over at Kat for a moment, as a look of confusion crossed over Kat's face. "What?"

"I guess that last stint in Pink left you with a need for speed, eh?" With a slight shove at Kim, Kat smiled and thought back to the more adventurous and dangerous days of her youth.

"You could say that." As if on cue for the way her thoughts were heading, she could hear the little bell that was the telltale sign of the absolutely adorable little Shih-Tzu that Kim had been given by one of the absolute dipshits that she had dated. Although the guy had turned out to be a throwaway, the little puppy had instantly bonded to both of their hearts, and so they had decided he was definitely a keeper.

Of course, when they had decided to keep the only male that held their hearts, at first they had a slight bit of trouble naming him. For the next week after Kim had dumped the loser, they had tried on a bunch of different names, seeing how both the dog and they reacted to the names. Cute names, tough names, cuddly names, all sorts of names had been tried on the dog, but either they wouldn't like it after a while, or their adorable pet wouldn't ever bother responding to it.

It wasn't until one night, after the both of them had gotten in late, that they were greeted by the sight of an abnormally large and disgusting rat crawling across their floor. Thinking back on it, the fact that the both of them had at one time been defenders of the planet, and had fought things that were a hundred times more disgusting than a rat would have steeled them better for such an encounter; but regardless of the fact, they were both shocked by the reactions they both had.

After spotting the little devil, they had left the door open, jumped on the couch, and yelled, almost hilariously in the same exact pitch in unison, "TOMMY!" As if on cue, their little Shih-Tzu had come running in, barking for all he was worth, and chasing the cause of their distress until he ran it clear out through the front door.

Standing on the couch, and looking at each other for a moment, they had both almost died laughing only stopping momentarily when their dog had come back in. Getting up to shut the door, Kim had scooped the amazingly cute animal into her arms, holding it against her, almost lovingly cradling him as he let, completely content to be in her arms. Catching Kat's eyes, they had shared one last look before smiling and deciding. After all, the name fit him perfectly.

"Come here Tommy!" The cutesy way Kim said that phrase, and the eager way the dog jumped into her arms drew Kat completely out of her reverie. With a slight smirk on her lips, she shared in petting and loving on the little guy. He completely loved it when both of them decided to pay him complete attention.

After playing, and loving on him so much that the little pink bow they kept tied to his pink collar fell off, they calmed down and relaxed for a little while. Kim made quick work of reattaching the bow to their dog's collar, smiling as she did it. Although they were not rangers anymore, their obsession with pink had managed to hold onto them. Though they didn't have to wear an abundance of pink, something they wore always had pink in it. And the pink collar and bow had been a concession on both their parts—one night during a particular drunken foray, they had nearly dyed the poor dears coat pink, and so that such a thing never even came close to happening again, they had decided to keep something pink on him at all times, "After all," Kim had said while buying both items, "I always did want to dress Tommy up in pink." The laugh and wink Kim had shared with Katherine at that comment had always been one of her favorite exchanges with her predecessor.

"Honestly Kat, why is Tommy the only good member of the male species on this continent?"

"If I could answer that Kimmie, all of our problems would be solved."

"Preach it sister."

Sharing one last laugh with Kim, Kat stood up stretching a little before walking around the couch, towards the direction of her room.

"I'll see you in the morning Kim, after a night like that the only thing I want is a bubble bath, and then to pass out." Nodding in agreement, understanding Kat's obvious need for the better things in life, Kim waved her off as she walked into her room.

Sitting alone in the living room now, Kimberly grabbed the remote from where she had deposited it when Katherine had come into the house. Not that she minded her company at all in the least, but it had been a total downer for Kim when Kat had come back so early, and with a completely different story than the one she had been expecting. The utter amount of total and complete dipshits that the both of them kept on running into seemed to be endless, and at times things seemed completely hopeless. Luckily they had each other at least.

Living a continent away from the place she had been born had taken some time to get used to. After she had competed in the Olympics and won three Gold Medals, solidifying her as one of the greatest gymnast of their age, the passion for Gymnastics had slowly faded away. Of course, it wasn't until after she had accepted an offer to come to London and be an instructor at one of the foremost prestigious schools in the world for gymnastics that she had realized her former dream had become a reality, and the feeling of pursuing something in her life had left. Never one to remain completely comfortable with being competent in something that was in her history, she had turned to another love in her life: music.

The music scene this side of the world was fantastic! Although she loved her American homeland and some of the music that they produced and played there a lot, the fickle nature of the scene, and the over produced and corporate feel there was something that she hadn't been very keen to get into, and so when she had decided to pursue a career in music, she chose to stay in London to do so. Also she was a responsible adult, and although she had accrued a decent amount of savings and hands on cash, the pay and interest she had in instructing the next generation of gymnast had been too good a position to leave behind at that time.

So while working, she had set about getting involved in the music scene in London. It didn't take long before she found herself performing songs that she had written in small little open mic night bars, and singing at the occasional coffee shop here and there when she got the chance. Soon enough, a couple of the more noteworthy names in the local scene had caught on to her, and she had gone from doing solo performances to gigging and singing in a couple of bands. With that, she had also managed to make connections, and a couple of the awesome musicians she had the opportunity to work with had begun helping her navigate the field with more finesse, and at the same time, had been helping her produce, arrange, and write her first EP.

When a respected label had picked her up, and decided to endorse her, she had near on jumped for joy. Hiring on one of her former band mates as her manager—although she was decent with music, she did not trust herself to navigate the contractual and business sides of the deal all on her own.

After everything had worked out, she found herself opening for one of the more popular bands in London a month later—the full length album she had been working on finally completed; a real mix, great mastering, cover art, and overall design compliments of her label all ready for her first show.

To say that it had been nerve wrecking her first time would have been an understatement. None of her friends from back home in America had been able to make it to the event, and she couldn't blame them—after all everything had happened so fast and to arrange transcontinental travel like that on a short notice would have been impossible. So there she had found herself, alone for her first show, aside from a few friends she had managed to make working at the Gymnastics academy, and while doing her music. She remembered getting on stage, with a group of people that she had formerly worked for now backing her up, and playing her heart out, trying to get the message from the songs she had written to them, and losing herself in the rush of emotion and release that her music allowed her.

At the end of her set, she was surprised by the thunderous applause that she had gotten in the end, but what surprised her more was that when she had gotten off of the stage and backstage, a streak of blonde had come running up to her, immediately wrapping her up in a tight embrace. To say Katherine of all people would have been the last person she would have expected to show up would only have been a small lie, seeing as there was one person she knew she would most likely never see again. Still though, the fact remained that running into Katherine here in London hadn't been something she thought would have happened.

-After the concert at a local Coffee shop—

Kim looked at the incredibly gorgeous woman sitting across from her at the little café they had both escaped to after the madness that had been the end of the concert. For awhile people had been clawing at a chance to get to Kim's table to buy the CD of the small opening act she had performed. Experiencing a bit of shock at people asking for her autograph on her CD's, the quite encouragement from Kat, who had stayed with her after their initial meeting had helped her make it through the almost embarrassing event. Kim had rarely ever felt as alive as she had at that moment. Now though, the high from the concert was wearing down, and the relief and feeling of pride were slowly washing down, leaving the fatigue that came after a performance in their wake. Along with a slightly awkward silence between the two women.

"So, how have you been?" The ice breaker from Kat helped him to look up from her mocha and smile at her. Odd as it was, and with the history the two of them had with each other, Kim couldn't help but smile at the attempt Kat was making here.

"I've been doing good."

"That's nice to hear." Again the awkward silence hit them again for a moment, before—

"I hear Tommy's into red heads now." And with that simple comment, the two of them stared at each other, and burst out laughing. Kim couldn't help it, Kat's casual way of remarking on the very subject that made this entire meeting weird, and literally throwing out the skeleton in both of their closets, caused her to be unable to hold it in. After calming down a little, Kim threw in,

"Well, I guess he's already tried the brunette and blonde categories. Seems he likes to change colors."

"Yeah, no kidding." And with that their friendship had been rekindled.

Soon after, both had managed to stay at that little café until the wee hours of the morning—a small blessing to the owner had been given for running a twenty-four hour café. They had managed to catch up with one another, each telling what they had been doing, Kat had revealed to Kim that after she had come to study ballet at the Royal Dance Academy of London, she had been picked up by a local company and had been working in London ever since. Kim informed Katherine of everything she had been up to since she had left after the events of the Murianthias incident.

It didn't take long for both of them to develop a close friendship with one another. After they had "buried the hatchet" about both of them having fallen and eventually leaving the same man, they had started a new friendship based around their mutual liking for one another, and their understanding of both of their obsession with pink, as Kat had lightly put it once.

When Kat's former roommate had gotten married, about six months into their friendship, Kat had jokingly stated that moving in together would be the best thing to happen since the addition of pink to the rainbow, and in a moment that surprised her more than it did Kat, Kim agreed, so they'd found themselves roommates.

Flipping through the channels, Kim unconsciously continued petting Tommy's head, the Shih-Tzu loving every moment of attention on him. Most of her time these days was spent working on new material, practicing, or doing the occasional gig. Every once in awhile she would work on someone else's project as a writer or singer, but ever since she had finally managed to quit the gymnastics academy, she had been taking things pretty slow. Now as a twenty-six year old woman, she sat back and simply enjoyed the time she was having, enjoying the better parts of her life.

"You honestly may be the only guy for us Tommy…" Kim sighed as she petted her dog. All of a sudden she jumped up and looked down at her dog. Although she had been petting him, it had only just struck her that she had NOT been talking to her dog.

_Ohshit._

Getting up from the couch in a way that caused Tommy to fall out of her lap and to the floor, the dog gave a small bark of discomfort at having fallen from his comfortable position on her lap. Sparing only a small apology for him, Kim raced to Katherine's door, shoving it open, only to almost go into a head on collision with Kat.

Stopping just before she would have hit her, Kim looked at Kat wrapped in a pink towel, dripping wet.

"I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" The inner valley girl in Kim almost popped out to yell, "JINX!", but she managed to control that part of herself.

"Umm, why were you rushing out of the bathtub?"

"Why were you rushing into my room?"

Looking at one another, they stared into each other's eyes before nodding once on the unspoken agreement to speak at the exact same time. In unison they both nearly shouted, "Tommy!"

Their little puppy ran into the hallway , his name having been called, only to find neither of his owners looking at him, turning his head sideways in confusion, he walked back out of the hallway to his doggy bed and laid his head down.

"You know, we are some crazy bitches." Kat only agreed as Kim sat across their kitchen table from her. Both of them were now fully dressed, and Kat's hair was wrapped up in a town. In front of them sat a bottle of their man Jack, and two shot glasses. They were both four down, and attempting to reach the number of original rangers.

On one side of the table, two boxes sat, opened for the other to see for the first time. Although they had both come to terms with the fact that they had dated the same man, to save each other from a lot of useless arguing, they had never touched too close to the others experience. The only time that had happened was when they had both been phenomenally decimated one night, and had almost ended up in a full on fist fight with one another. After that night, one they had attributed to their drunken stupor, they had made an unspoken agreement to never compare their experiences—until tonight.

Having taken out their self dubbed "Tommy Boxes", they had exchanged them for the first time ever, getting a glimpse into the other woman's experience with the man they had both fallen for, but ultimately both left for the pursuit of a dream.

Picking up a beautiful locket from Kim's box, Kat looked at her and raised an eyebrow,

"You kept this, huh?"

"Yeah," Kim smiled a little shyly as she looked at the only piece of jewelry that Tommy had ever bought for her. A lot of fond memories were attached to that locket, but she hadn't worn it since the day she had written that damn letter.

Watching as Kim rummaged through her box, Kat could only wince when Kimberly pulled out a square shaped wrapper.

"Oh, Kat you didn't!"

Blushing for all she was worth, she couldn't help but notice the double toned shock mixed in with a little bit of hurt in Kim's voice.

"You kept the wrapper to the condom he used?!" Kat's only response was to pour both of them another shot and down it as soon as it was in the glass. She knew Kim's shock had really been for two reasons. The first was because, she was right—it was weird of Kat to have kept the wrapper to the first condom she and Tommy had used her first time. Underneath that though, Kat was also pretty sure that Kim was commenting on the fact that Tommy's V-card was forever going to belong to Kat. Kim had never asked, so Kat had never told.

"So, how was it?" The interest in Kim's eyes told a lot, but Kat only had one real answer:

"Quick." Throwing back both of their heads, they shared a laugh at the expense of their absent ex.

"That's awfully mean of you!" The giggle in Kim's voice kept inciting more giggles out of Kat.

"Well, what did you expect? It was both of our first times, and he had almost no idea what he was doing." Kat smirked as she thought back to that particular experience.

"Plus, surprising as this may sound, I was pretty….aggressive." Kim almost doubled over laughing as she imagined Kat being aggressive with Tommy…before the thought almost made her want to lunge across the table. Taking a small moment to calm down and let the drinks she had taken completely control her actions, Kim looked over to Katherine.

"So, when?"

"About a week after we graduated." Looking at Kim, Kat waited.

"Keep going." With another blush, Kat continued onto the rest:

"Well, after the first encounter with Divatox, our relationship hit a bit of a snag." Thinking back to those days, Kat let a small frown show on her face. She also didn't miss the small look of concern that passed through Kim's face. Knowing one another as well as they knew each other now, she knew Kim was able to guess what she was going to say next.

"After that whole run in with you and Jason, Tommy grew kind of distant from me for awhile, and then he got into this slightly reclusive state from all of us—he skipped graduation and instead spent his time at the race track." She remembered sharing her fears with Tanya about why Tommy had been distant from the team—that had been easy or as easy as it could have been. Looking at Kim's face while recanting this particular story almost made it near impossible. Sucking it up, and thankful for how buzzed she was, she continued on.

"Being completely honest, I knew it had to do with you. Every time he had looked at me since Murianthias, I got the feeling that instead of wanting to see me there, he was imagining seeing you there. I kind of hated you for a little during those few days." With that little admission, Kat looked over to Kim, and saw that Kim had downed her fifth shot while she had been talking. Gesturing in the direction of the couch, her and Kim both moved from the table leaving behind the bottle and shot glasses for the comfort of their gigantic couch. Sitting next to Kim in a way more comfortable environment, Kat wasn't surprised when Kim pulled her into a small hug, and then let Kat lay her head down on her lap. As much as this was behind them, it still wasn't.

"I got sick of it fast, and confronted him on the issue one day when I found him at his Uncles cabin." Kim was slightly stroking Katherine's hair, listening intently to the tale.

"To say the least, it wasn't one of our pleasant and nice conversations. I was just so damned tired of him moping around like a lost puppy, and then doing it because his ex had come into town for a few days and hadn't really even said much to him!" Kim winced a little at the repressed anger that her successor held for those days still. She could understand though, she knew if it had been herself in that situation she probably would have blown up a lot sooner.

"While we were talking I told him that he needed to make a choice, a memory or me," a slight smirk appeared on her lips while she was talking. "And then I gave him the hottest kiss I could possibly perform then. I pulled out all the stops girl, leaning my body against his, being a little overly aggressive, and letting his hands go where ever they wanted." Kim couldn't help but smile at Kat's pride at her then prowess.

"When I had finished I whispered into his ear, 'and I'm going to bet a memory can't do that.'" Relaxing a bit more in the couch for the next part of her story, Kat let her mind take her down memory lane as she dove not only into the memories, but the emotions she had been feeling at the time.

"Needless to say, after that little stunt, Tommy was momentarily shocked, but then he countered with what was possibly the sweetest kiss I've ever had—and then he kept going from there. The next thing I know, we're going at it full force, and the nice, sweet, and innocent Tommy that I'd been dating the entire time vanished and turned into this raw force of male masculinity, want, and desire." With a smirk she commented, "I was actually surprised at how much of that I was able to bring out, and more than a little satisfied."

Moving up from Kim's lap to turn at be able to look at her in the face when she said this, Kat grabbed both of Kim's hands and held them in her lap. "After awhile we'd made our way to the bed in the cabin, and were still going full force, his shirt had disappeared during the entire thing, and I'm pretty sure mine had been ripped off, I can't really remember that detail. Anyways, when we were finally lying down on the bed, he leaned in and whispered into my ear, 'Help me forget'."

Lightly squeezing Kim's hands to let her know that this was all ancient history, Kat continued on before she lost the courage. "What else could I do? He was giving me the chance to wipe the slate clean, and do something I had always wanted, make him completely mine. Not to mention the fact that I wanted him, wanted everything from him so bad, wanted to do something with him without thinking, 'Did he like the way Kim did this better'?, or 'Was this him reliving a memory of something he and Kim did'? I wanted to make him mine, and only mine. So I dedicated the rest of the evening to attempting to wipe out not just the memory of you, but of any female he had every thought about."

She was taking it all in good, but Kat knew how she would feel if her best friend had just told her that she had once hated her, and slept with her former ex with the intentions being to wipe the memory of their time together from his mind. With a slight wince, and a soft spoken, "Sorry." Kat sat back into the couch, her hands still wrapped around Kim's.

"You don't need to apologize Kat; I should be the one apologizing." Sitting up and looking at her, Kim had no reserves about what she said next. "To be honest, when I had come back then, I made sure I was looking the best I possibly could. I smiled the smiles he had loved for me to smile, I had been making all the motions he loved for me to make, and had even walked and lingered in certain ways that I knew had made him turn his head to look at me back when we were together." Taking one hand back from Kat, she ran it through her head as her mind took her back.

"To be honest, I don't even know why I was doing it. I guess the thought that Tommy had moved on to bigger and blonder things had, at the time annoyed me. I never wanted him to stay unhappy, but for me, watching him with you had made me feel like he had completely forgotten me and that dumb bitchy side of me couldn't live with the fact that I'd left him, and he'd just moved to the bomb shell blonde that I'd spent so much time stressing and agonizing over the entire time he and I were attempting the whole long distance thing." Kat couldn't help but smirk over Kimberly's use of the term 'bigger and blonder'.

"Don't worry Kimmie, I know exactly how you felt. You dealt with the threat of me; I had to deal with the memory of you." Smiling at one another, they sat back into the couch and sighed. It seems they had both been repressing these things for a long time.

"All that over Tommy, and here I was thinking he was the perfect guy," with a little giggle, Kim turned to Kat.

"He may not have been perfect, but I'm more than sure he was worth it. After all, there was no way he was always shifted into turbo." With a small wink towards Kat, neither of them could hold in the laughter at the jib Kim had gotten in at Tommy's expense, again.

"Oh, he turned out to be amazing after a couple of more times…and his intensity, needless to say I don't think any of the other guys I've dated could have matched anywhere near the intensity and passion he would have in those moments." The small telltale smile on Kat's lips played at some of the highlighted memories she had of her dear puppy's namesake.

"Well, it's too bad we were both dumb enough to dump him." Kim said.

"Yeah, I think it's one of the few blonde moments I've had in my life."

"Same here."

"Kim you're a brunette."

"This only goes to show how retarded writing that letter was."

"It's too bad Tommy doesn't live in London Kimmie, being completely honest I wouldn't mind another shot at him."

"Oh, I completely agree, but he's got to at least be engaged by now, what girl would be stupid enough to let him slip through their fingers?" Sharing a look and shaking their heads, they continued on.

"Well, we at least had a small excuse, we were still kids then." Running her hand through her blonde hair, the argument didn't sound as good when it was spoken out loud.

"True, we were kids. And nowadays he's Dr. Thomas James Oliver." She snickered at that a little bit. When she had been talking to Trini one day, she had questioned how "Mr. Oliver" was doing these days in a random vent of nostalgia, and Trini had corrected that "Dr. Oliver" was doing fine. To say that she had been shocked that he'd actually become a Doctor of Paleontology was the understatement of the century. "So, any woman who he's recently hooked up with would have to be stark raving mad to let him go. Didn't you say he was dating some red head a couple of years back?"

"Misinformed apparently, from what Tanya tells me. Haley's a beautiful girl, but her and Tommy supposedly share in the most intimate and platonic relationship of all time." With a little giggle, Kim looked over at Kat.

"How in the world does she manage that?"

"Beats me."

"Think he has a thing for pinks?"

"Well, given the track record that we know he has, consisting of you and me my dear Kimberly, I would say that it definitely doesn't hurt having a woman who knows the secret." With a small thought at that, she continued on, "Which is probably why he and Haley get along so well, since she's all kinds of privy to Mr. Technicolor's past."

"She knows?!"

"Oh, yeah; that was something else Tanya had let me onto. Apparently when Adam had gone to visit Tommy one time, Haley had walked in on them while they were remembering some of their exploits. While Adam was a little shocked and worried that he'd just blown the secret, the girl just sat down, and said, 'I haven't heard that one before.'"

"And after all that effort we'd made in keeping the secret, Tommy just goes and tells some random chick about everything. Think he spilled the beans about his little black book?"

"Who knows? If they're as close to each other as I've heard, it wouldn't be a long stretch to think that he'd spilled the beans about the "worst breakups of his life". After all, you broke up with him through a Dear John Letter, and I left him the worst voice message of all time."

"We are some cold bitches Kat."

"Tell me about it."

"She must think the same exact thing about the both of us."

"Well, at least we've both had more of him than she'll apparently ever have."

"I want him back!" Kat turned towards Kim, the outburst from the smaller brunette woman coming only as a partial shock to her, the only problem with that was...

"Join the club Kim. If I had another honest shot with him, I would take it. After all, he wasn't the one who left me, and before I had decided to move, our relationship had been going great—then I had to up and decide that dreams of Ballet and London were what I really wanted out of life, along with a guy who I could see daily, and an awesome life in another foreign country." The dejected tone of her voice left little doubt to how seriously everything she was saying was.

"Ha, at least you got to sleep with him; I was so idiotic back then to think that I would have my whole entire life with Timmy, only to choose to move to Florida. Although I don't really regret it, honestly if I had stayed in Angel Grove what are the chances that I would currently be Mrs. Dr. Thomas James Oliver?"

With a full on laugh, Kat couldn't help, she let lose a torrent. "About the same chances I would currently have at being Mrs. Dr. Thomas James Oliver. Although if you had stayed, I would have never gotten the shot, had one of the most fantastic times of my life being both a Power Ranger and one of the loves of Tommy's life. I mean honestly Kimberly; the two of us are some kick ass females. Know any other female that could honestly stand up to us where he's concerned?

"Hell no! We're some bad ass bitches my dear Kitty."

"And do you think any of those twats—although I'm sure they're wonderful girls, he does after all have great taste in women," Kat spoke, lightening the fire for just s moment before going right back into it, "Could hold a candle to us? Could they Pilot the Crane Zord, or the Ninjetti Zord alongside Tommy!?"

"Not a chance!"

"Or could they have taken on Tommy when he went bad?"

"Fuck no!"

"Exactly!"

"Or could they have dealt with being dragged from the juice bar that was normally their hangout by a multidementional entity and told to save the world with their adolescent friends, while still holding up good grades, falling in love, becoming a world class gymnast, AND A PROFESSION MUSICIAN IN LONDON!"

"…We really are some awesome chicks now that I think about it. How have we had such shitty luck with men?"

"Because while we've been away letting lame dick losers chase us, the love of one of our lives has been busy trying to wear every color in existence."

And in one instance they both spared a look for the other. A light had just struck in both of their heads.

"Kim, please tell me you're thinking the same thing I am…" Facing Kim head on, Kat looked directly into her eyes.

"Kat, as crazy as it sounds, I think I may be thinking the exact same thing you are."

"How would that even work?"

"And what kind of rules would we have to lie down? To be honest, if we even attempted something like this, I wouldn't pull any punches. I love you Kat, but…" the lingering tone of Kim's voice left no doubt in Kat's mind what Kim meant.

"I completely understand Kim, in the since that I would be the same exact way." A small nod of understanding passed between the two.

"So, do you want to actually say it, or should I?" Kat looked at Kim, pondering on that.

"You dated him first; I'll leave the honors up to you." With a small laugh at the frown that turned into a bit of a cutesy, sexy smile on Kim's face, Kat listened to the words that were most likely going to be the craziest thing that would ever come out of either of their mouths.

"Well Kat, I think it's finally time we have the ultimate showdown between the two of us, "Taking a small breath, Kim finally let it out.

"Kat, you and I should go back to the states and see which one of us can win Tommy back. That way if he's finally attached to his soul mate, it'll leave the doorway open for the one who doesn't get him to be free of being tied down to him in that way." As Kim got up and walked to the table, Kat got up to follow and watched as Kim starting pouring another shot for both of them, "Farther more, I think we should try at the same exact time. It'll be cruel on him, but it'll force him to choose between the two of us once and for all. HOWEVER!" The slight scream in the word implied Kim's seriousness at the situation, "We must make a vow that no matter what happens, that We" she gestured between the two of them with her index finger, "Are not turned against each other. We both have to understand that we're doing this in agreement with one another, but against one another with no bad feelings towards the lucky bitch between the two of us that gets him, agreed?"

Watching as Kim held up her shot glass to see if she would agree, Kat could only smile as she lifted her glass, and toasted to Kim's loose terms. They would go about working out the finer details of this arrangement later on, but for right now, the only thing she could think about was that this shot was lucky number six—the same number Ranger as the object of this deal between the two of them. "Agreed."

And with that the two of them knocked back their shot.

"Kim, is it bad of me to think this is the best idea, drunk or sober, that either one of us has ever had?"

"Nope, I'm right there with you."

With a small giggle that turned into a laugh, Kat continued on, "So, we're both going after the same man, at the same time, who we both have a history with, and who we both apparently still have feelings for."

"Yup."

"May the best Pink win."

* * *

And there is chapter one. I hope you like it.

-Divinitas Intereo


	3. Act I Pt II

Jason's arm sprang out and banged against his alarm clock with a vengeance, the incessant ringing of the alarm going off at what he thought was his wake up call enough to near on drive him nuts. After hitting it a few times, with the ringing continuing, he got up from his bed, looking around at his surroundings until his eyes fell on his phone. The ringer was going crazy, and with a sparring glance for the now broken alarm clock he spared a small sigh for himself sneaking a look at the time. 3:45 AM blinked sporadically across the alarm clock, until it finally turned off for good. Reaching for his still ringing phone, he looked at the number, and realized why he was getting the car at such an inappropriate time. Answering it, he let the agitation in his voice become extremely apparent.

"Kim, I swear Zedd better be back to life and already destroyed half of Angel Grove if you're seriously calling me at 3:45 AM IN THE MORNING!"

_"Oh shit Jase, I'm sorry! I told you we counted the hours wrong!" _In the background Jason swore he heard laughter—and it sounded slightly drunk. Wiping his eyes, and sitting on the edge of his bed, he waited for his dear younger sister to get to the point of this conversation. Unfortunately, his response to Kim had been a bit louder than he thought, and the other side of the covers ruffled before and extremely agitated Trini appeared from under the covers.

Attempting to take a look at the alarm clock the was now broken, she grabbed her cell and looked at the time that was being displayed. "Jason, what the hell, it's 3:46 in the morning and you're yelling into your phone likes it's the middle of the day!" with a slight wince, Jason brought one of his hands to cover his eyes. Busted.

The laughter on the other side of the line stopped as some shifting occurred on the other end before Kim's voice came back, _"Oh my God Jason, is that TRINI!?" _ From the background of the call, with the obvious knowledge that Kim had now put the phone on speaker, he already knew that the other pink ranger in the room had joined in. _"No way! What's Trini doing there?" _

_"I"ve got no idea,"_ the flow of the conversation turned back over to Jason and his, until recently, very quite girlfriend of the past three months. _"TRINI YOU WHORE, HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME YOU'RE DOING MY OLDER BROTHER!" _

The agitation on his girlfriends face, along with the look of a person who had been caught stealing candy, caused Jason to start laughing; his hand still covering his face. Handing the phone to Trini, knowing that this little situation would have to be handled before the purpose of this call could continue, he just sat back and prepared to enjoy the show. It was going to be an interesting morning.

"Kim, it's almost 4:00 in the morning—"

_"No Ma'am, no redirecting the conversation spill the beans!"_ It was impossible to keep a straight face at the distraught look on his girlfriends face. Giving her an encouraging shrug, Trini proceeded with damage control.

"Alright you annoying pink, that goes for you too Kat!" The laughter on the other side of the line was getting kind of annoying.

"Jason and I have been seeing each other for the past three months. Up till now we've just been keeping it kinda quiet since we didn't want any of our _invasive friends_ prying into our business. I've been sleeping over here for the past two weeks, the sex is awesome, and Jason has an amazing tongue—can I go to sleep now?" The eruption of laughter on Kim's side of the line almost caused a slight blush to appear on Jason's face. The small wink he'd received from his amazing girlfriend during her listing of his more sensual prowess's also stroking his male ego at the same time. Yup, she was the most awesome girls in the world; lewd, crass, and a bit too revealing, but still one of the most beautiful and amazing women on the planet.

_"Well my dear Yellow, as interesting as this call has already been your conquest over Jason isn't the reason that we're calling." _Kat's voice disappeared as Kim's voice popped back on, _"Trini, we're coming home!"_ And with that little comment, both Jason and his girlfriend sat up—instantly more awake while listening to the two of them. Kat and Kim hadn't come back to California since they had each individually left. Kat's parent's had moved back to Australia almost as soon as Kat had left for London, and most of Kim's family now lived in Paris, aside from her father.

Getting up to turn on the lights to his room, Jason almost had a little trouble suppressing his laugh. Trini was sitting up in his bed, the red comforter he kept on his bed still covering her legs as she was sitting Indian style in the middle of his bed, the yellow and slightly ripped in weird places night shirt she was wearing hanging off one of her shoulders. She looked completely disgruntled at the moment. It was a look he absolutely adored on his girl.

"Really! Kim that's awesome, how long are the two of you going to be in town? Have you figured out where you're going to be staying?" The absolute excitement in Trini's voice made Jason smile. It wasn't just the excitement his girl was showing at the prospects of having two of her dearest friends coming back into town to pay a visit, but his own excitement was transparent in his smile.

_"Well, that's the thing Trin, when I say we're coming back home," _Kat quickly jumped in, _"What she means is that we're moving back!" _ And with that, the torrent was unleashed. For almost a full minute Jason was settled with squealing, screaming, ahhing, and 'OM MY GODS'. For a moment the sounds from the other side of the line became too muffled to even attempt to understand. Soon enough, the line died down, and the decibels and pitch returned to a frequency that the phones mic could finally translate into understandable signals once again.

"What's brought this on though; I thought everything was going great in London Kim, for both you and Kat. Why are the two of you coming back?" The other side of the line had gone dead, dead panned, before a whispered conversation too low to hear that sounded a bit like an argument appeared over the line. Finally, after a few sighs and what sounded like the clinking of shot glasses in the background, Kim's voice shot back over the line.  
_"Well Trin, that's actually pretty complicated." _ Kat's voice came back over, _"Yeah, and although this may sound insane we need you and Jason to have a very, VERY open mind about this…" _ Sharing a look between himself and his girlfriend, they both continued listening. As Kim continued talking.

_"You see, Kat and I have been having some really shitty luck with the guys here in London, and after Kat's date today, we've both decided that we've had enough. So after talking about the way we both felt, Kat and come to a bit of an interesting solution to the problem and have decided to—" _ Even as Kim had been speaking, Jason could feel his eyes widening, until finally he just blurted out,

"Oh man, you and Kat are coming back here to hook up!" Pure shock radiated from his voice, before he registered the black look coming from Trini, and swore he could feel the black and possibly sobered looks he was getting from Kat and Kim back in London.

"Nevermind, keep going Kim…"

_"ANYWAYS, as I was saying, Kat and I have decided to move back so that we can both take another shot at Tommy." _ A paper clip could have fallen and made more sound in Jason's room that either he or Trini were making at the moment. Making sure he heard both of them right twice before he opened his mouth, he was lucky that Trini beat him to speaking this time. He could not have just heard what he thought he just heard.

"Kim…how drunk are you and Kat right now?"

_"Oh please Trini, we're only seven shots down."_ With a shocked look at his phone, Jason cleared out his ears, and pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't still asleep and just having the weirdest dream of his life. Who says, 'Only seven shots down'? Who was only ever 'Only seven shots down'?

"Kat, maybe you and Kim should sober up before you two go about making major life choices based on a drunken ha—"

_"No Trini, this isn't just a drunken haze we have going on right now—plus that's seven shots for over the past several hours, not all at once. What do you think we are alcoholics?" _ The sound of Kim's voice dared them to challenge that.

"Well, I'm sorry Kim—it's just that you have to understand where I'm coming from. You're calling me at 4:00 in the morning telling me that you and your roommate, who both used to date the same exact man, who both wore the same exact uniform, and who both dumped that same boyfriend to chase your dreams—no judgments, have decided to move back here so that the _two_ of you can attempt another shot with said ex." The exasperated look on his girlfriends face didn't near match his.

_"Yeah, I can get how that doesn't make sense…" _

"Make sense? Kat, Kim, I'm half a step away from flying to London to do a completely psychological check up on the two of you. What you're talking about sounds near insane—not to mention way too kinky and risqué for either of the two of you to be completely comfortable with it. I mean, can you imagine the amount of strain it would put on the friendship the two of you have spent the last two years turning into what I would consider one of the best friendships I've ever seen?" Trini was in full force now, having gotten out of his bed, walking around the room, and motioning with her hands at random points in the conversation as if Kat and Kim could see her. Jason was perfectly happy to let Trini handle this. His mind was still having trouble coming to terms with what the two of them were suggesting…trying to win Tommy back, at the same time!?

_"That's just it Trini, this is something that Kat and I would never do in a million years—both chasing after Tommy, and doing it at the same time. But you have to understand where we're coming from. Just tell us this; in either of the three of our lives, have you ever seen any of us as happy as when one of us was with Tommy, and when he was with one of us?" _Jason could hear Kim take a breath as she was talking. He could only imagine that type of expression that was on her face.

_"And also, we have to know Trini. It's hard to explain, and I know you've told me that asking what if questions is useless, but I need to know if I at one time had the person I was meant to be with—the Falcon to my Crane so to speak, and was stupid enough to throw it away." _ With a little shifting in between on the other side of the phone, Kat's voice came through.

_"Also…as horrid as this is going to sound, we need to do this in a way where it's definitive that Tommy has chosen one of us with no chances of there being a, 'what if I should be with' in between us. Honestly Trini, living in Kimberly's shadow was one of the major factors of why Tommy and I had so many issues at the beginning and end of our relationship."_

_"And it's the same for me Trini. While I was in Florida the thoughts of being thousands of miles away from Tommy while he had someone as drop dead gorgeous as Kat right there beside him—it played a massive role in me writing that damn letter. I mean, have you seen Kat? She's like a confidence hit to every girls self esteem." _The emotional distress that women went though, Jason had no idea how they kept it all in.

_"Not to mention, seeing Tommy after that whole kidnapping bullshit went down; the way he and Kat looked? Seriously, you can turn and look at Jason right now and ask him if I was ever anywhere near being by myself, or without him there right beside me up until the moment he and I left."_

_"And it's the opposite for me Trini. Do you know what it's like to be making love to the man you would do anything for, and to wonder if he's imaging another woman in his arms rather than you? As much as Kim says I was a hit to her physical pride, it hurt just as much to know that she left a rift so large inside Tommy that it felt like no matter what I did, I would always just be the replacement that Tommy settled for. Always be the girl that repaired his heart, but never the one that fully held it." _

The conversation had taken a surprising turn from where it had started at. Jason, although extremely close with Kim, and decent friends with Kat, had never known their sides of the story so far as this was concerned. He'd often talked over all of this with Tommy whenever the situation had presented itself. It was no lie that both of these women amounted up to the ultimate loves of his best friends' life, and the scars that they had both left on him were a big reason why Tommy had yet to be able to keep a steady girlfriend.

Through conversations he'd had with Trini over the situation, honestly worried for his best friend, she had confided that Haley was most likely Tommy's highest line of emotional defense. The relationship the two of them had all the triggers of the deepest and most intimate relationships, aside from the physical aspects. They both loved one another deeply; romance was something that just did not exist for either one of them. Although Trini could only hypothesize about Haley's situation, Tommy's was pretty clear—everything he looked for in a woman he was able to find in Haley, but Haley was also able to keep him from ever having to actually get involved with a woman. She was able to be there _for_ him, but not there with him. The strongest piece of evidence for this was the fact that she was the only person in Tommy's life outside of the original Rangers and other active Ranger teams that knew anything about his life beyond the mask of Dr. Thomas James Oliver that he threw on for the rest of the world.

Trini moved a hand through her hair, tracing it all the way down. Jason had known Trini for most of her and his life, and he knew when she was internally going through a problem from every angle. He knew that she was also not just able to understand Tommy's side of this, but Kat and Kim's story to a maximum degree, just because she was a woman—although Tommy not being the only Dr. in the Ranger group due to Trini's doctorate in Psychology & Counseling had to also help in that. He trusted her to think not only where Kat and Kim were coming from, but to also think about how all of this would be on the object of their affection.

When Trini had been working towards her doctorate, she had often commented on how she would have loved to have been able to do a study of Tommy. He was, for all intensive purposes, the paragon of what each and every single Ranger aspired to be. Having gone through more suits than an entire assembled team, led more teams of Rangers, belonged to more teams, and even created his own team, he was eternally attached to the legacy that had once been upheld by a being that had been alive for over ten millennia.

For Zordon, having done everything he did was simply taken as a matter of course—he had the sense of mysticism, and the advantage of not being a human with a lifespan that was basically a blink of an eye compared to the long years that the Eltarian had lived. Tommy though, was a human and had taken on the mantle of the Legacy of Power at such a young age, sixteen. A from there he had never not been involved in the Power. He had often told them that even before he had created his own team of Rangers, that the other teams that would pop up would eventually look him up for guidance—no matter where he was in his life, he would always drop everything he was doing for the greater good. His life was a testament to the dedication he had placed in the rangers. One that he had fully immersed himself in after Kim had left; a life that Tommy had stayed in when Kat left.

Wither Kim and Kat had any role to play in that—in that Tommy may have used his days as a Ranger as a way to escape, a way to give his life purpose since he felt unrelated to a sense of normalcy in his life was unknown to her. The conversation always came back to a look at his life over all. He'd never exactly been a normal person beforehand. A loner that had been adopted into their group—and even the way that had worked out had been one of the most unusual circumstances that any of them in their group had ever experienced. And for a group that spent their days drenched in unusual circumstances, to call Tommy's entrance an outlier out of all of their experiences wouldn't be a stretch.

From those days forward, though each of his former Ranger alumnus had managed to leave that life behind, Tommy had always been drawn back to it—and always found himself going to it willingly. Trini sometimes told him that it was what he filled his life with. If he couldn't feel accepted in a regular life—something that he had tried for twice then she thought he would try to live in a world that he was so well suited to. Haley was just an anchor that kept him tied down to the world he wished he lived enough to give him enough of an excuse to keep himself on the edge. Throughout his entire life everything he had done was a testament to how abnormal Tommy was to normal—hell, how abnormal Tommy was to even the abnormal. He made entire collections of veteran Rangers look like the greenest rookies. Even in his normal life, his "normal" job had consisted of being a stock car driver straight out of high school.

With all this on his mind, Jason finally had to speak up. He understood Trini's methods, and he respected his girlfriend and her knowledge of her profession, but he _needed _to speak up for the sake of his friend.

"Look you two; I understand that this is something you need to do. Shit, it may be the most important thing that you ever do in your life, but I need you both to understand something." Taking a deep breath, he continued on before Trini could stop him. "Tommy's my brother; it doesn't matter if we weren't born from the same mother. Not be blunt, but he's used to adoption. I love him just the same as I would love him if we had been twins born in the same exact minute. I know there are things the two of you need to work on, and can understand the need to find your other half," sitting beside Trini, Jason embraced her in a one arm hold while she wrapped both her arms around his torso, drawing close to each other. God, did he understand that need to have that other half. "But you're both going to have to take into account Tommy here." It was time for a little harsh and tough love.

"You both left him, in the pursuit of lives that were very suited to you, and like Trini said, I wouldn't dream of judging either of you for what you did. Life happens. But when the both of you left, you left something behind—him. While you two went on to live, by regular world standards, pretty amazing lives, Tommy continued in the legacy that was handed down to us. While I opened a martial arts school after a pretty successful fighting career, Zach became a dance god, Trini became the hottest Dr. of Psychology in existence, Billy became a diplomat, and the two of you became an award winning ballet dancer and a Gold medal winning Gymnast while doubling as an up an rising musician. Even beyond the original five and Kat, Adam also owns a martial arts school along with Rocky, Aisha has become a Vet, Tanya is a professional singer in LA, and Justin is an up and coming professional martial artist—and probably the only one aside from Tommy with a Doctorate and black belt." Taking a deep breath he continued on. "My point with all of this is that while we all moved on the regular dreams that we'd all had our entire lives, Tommy, in the span of time that it took all of us to achieve our dreams continued to fight the good fight, even beyond his passing on the torch to the second generation. We hadn't told anyone due to the fact that there's just no absolutely secure way to get this information out, but let's just say that Tommy's got a new fondness for black after the past year—and one that was brought on by the fact that he made his own suit, and other suits for others to wear this time around."

Complete silence dominated the other side of the line. He wanted to stop, but he needed to keep going. Needed to make sure they understood what they would be asking of the individual who Jason respected more than any person on the planet. Finding a way to put it that he was sure they would understand, he finally spoke with,

"The Falcon has had a long flight, and one that he's had to fly alone. I know that at one point, a Crane flew beside him, and helped him bear the weight of the world—but when those Cranes flew off, he continued on with his journey, never once stopping his vigilance. If you can understand this, understand that his life has been one formed by that, and if you can stand to fly alongside him with the knowledge of who he really is, then I'll personally help you. But if you can't, if you're unable to live with who he really is, then I'm begging you not to do this."

From what he could hear from the other side of the line, he knew that there was at least four sets of eyes that were currently filled with tears. I hurt Jason to make two of his closest friends question themselves in something he knew they both desperately needed, but just as much as their lives would be upturned by their choice, Tommy's life would be turned upside down. Honestly, he hoped that they were able to deal with his conditions. Although it was who Tommy was, Jason honestly believed that it was finally time for Tommy to be able to lay down the mantle and let the next generation pick it up. He had born the weight of the Legacy for so long that even though he was only twenty-six, he had been aged to a man who had lived twice the number of lives he had. Although he rarely every showed it, Jason knew that to be true. It was time for him to have the chance at a life he had only been able to imagine for himself twice in his life…even if he did have to go through what Jason was sure to be a living hell. As a fellow male, Jason was unashamed to say that he seriously was going to envy Tommy if this actually went through. Lucky son of a bitc—

_"Believe me Jason, we both understand. Beyond the fact that we both need this, it's the fact that he's in the shape he's in that we also want to do this. Aside from that, who else could give him what he needs? Who else could understand him better than the two of us? I've never met Haley before; I don't even know how she looks. I'm almost positive that she must be an amazing woman, but unless she was one of the people Tommy gave one of those suits to, she'll never understand him, be able to truly understand him, the way that Kat and I can."_

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jason planted a kiss on Trini's forehead.

"Alright then, it's finally time to execute operation 'Retire the Falcon'." Watching as a smirk appeared on his girlfriends face at his name he turned back to the phone.

"When are the two of you planning on moving over here?"

_"Well, if we start tomorrow, it'll take us about three weeks for us to get everything in order here. Kat and I both have pretty great jobs here, but one of the great things about them is that they had a great pay. Financially we're both stable in the extreme since of the word, plus I can do my work anywhere. And I'm more than sure that Zack has the local Dance Scene so down packed that he'll be able to easily help Kat get some work back in California. Again, have you seen this bad bitch?"_

Jason couldn't help but laugh along with Trini at Kim's comment. Although his mind did think back for a moment at just how beautiful the both of them were. The smirk that the laugh ended on was something that Trini only took a small notice in. A smirk of her own was on her lips.

"Alright pinky, I get the point. If that's the case, then I'll get to work on laying the foundation for this entire event."

_"Foundation?"_ With a bit of an evil gleam in his eyes, Jason let go of Trini as he moved to lie down on his bed, looking up at his ceiling.

"I told you Kim, operation 'Retire the Falcon'. I've had contingency plans for every member of my team ever since I left myself the first time. Plus, you can't just all of a sudden appear out of nowhere. There has to be a reason, and I've had an idea in my mind for the past month or so that I've just been waiting for an excuse. And now that I know that the two are going to be coming here, I think now would be a good time to execute operation RR in full effect."

_"Trini, sweetie, I think you should do a psychological evaluation of your dear honey to make sure he's mentally stable. I don't think I know of anyone who keeps a portfolio of back up and contingency plans for his friends." _Rolling her eyes Trini replied,

"Don't worry Kat, I've done _extensive_ evaluations of Jason. He's _all _good."

_"…You're a pervert Trini."_ Crackling with giggles, Trini fell back to lie down on the bed alongside her boyfriend, moving the phone so it stayed within talking and hearing distance.

_"Anyways, what's operation RR?"_ At those words Jason perked up.

"That, my dear Kimberly, stands for operation R Reunion. I've wanted to get all of us together for the longest time, but like I said, it's a near impossible task, but I think if Trini and I spend the next three weeks, call in some help, and arrange for a place, that we can pull it off." Sharing a look with Trini Jason smiled.

_"Honestly Jason, how hard could it be to gather 12 people?"_

"Pinky, try 50 people, give or take a couple."

_"50! Where are you getting that number from!?" _

"Are you kidding me? New teams are popping up all the time, and like I said before our boy Tommy is someone that has stayed in the game for a long time. He's kept me informed about most of the teams that have popped up, and about ten of us who share a fondness for red once had to work together on something. I learned about a majority of the people during that little get together. I've always wanted to meet all of them, I mean wouldn't you like chance to see the people who continued the legacy after we left? Or, even more interesting, meet the team the Tommy himself put together?"

_"Actually, that sounds pretty interesting. I haven't seen Cassie since the day we all passed on the torch; it'd be nice to see everyone again, and to meet everyone who came after us. Plus, you're right. It would be the perfect excuse to draw us all to being in the same place—after all I'm pretty sure Tommy wouldn't miss an event like this. It'll practically be an entire event targeted at his ego. Has any ranger done half as much as him?"_

"Being completely honest, there are entire teams that haven't done as much as him. But yeah, you're right. This is something that Tommy wouldn't miss."

_"Well, is there anything you need Kat or I to do?"_

"Just get your sexy asses back over here, my man and I will take care the rest. And as much as I've enjoyed this entire conversation Kim, you've entirely destroyed the budget I had just made Jason for his phone, since for the past almost hour we've been on an international call."

_"Oh, right…Sorry about that big brother! Okay, well I guess Kat and I will keep you updated as we go along. We'll be getting everything together here, and tomorrow we'll begin looking for a place in Angel Grove as soon as we can."_

"Okay awesome, but instead of living in Angel Grove, why do you and Kat just move to Reefside, after all, if you're here for Tommy why even bother putting an hour's distance in between you?"

_"Oh, good point Trini, well we'll let the two of you go. We'll see you soon, love you both!"_

"Same to you Kimmie. Bye Kat!"

_"Bye! Love you both lots!"_

Hanging up his phone, Jason put it back on the charger and shared a look at his girlfriend before looking back at his ceiling. He had a broken alarm clock, an outrageous phone bill, an entire event to pull together in about a month, and a best friend that he was about to toss to the lions and send his life into a tail spend. Lucky bastard.

"What was that Jason?"

With a start, he turned to his girl.

"Huh?"

"Did I just hear you say 'lucky bastard'?"

Oh shit, had he said that out loud?

"Umm, no. Course not."

"Oh, are you sure, cause I could have sworn I heard those words whisper out of your lips," Jason could only smile as Trini crawled up on top of him and began planting kisses on his lips, his neck, his cheek. "After all, I thought long black hair and Asian influenced was more your taste these days ever since you discovered that blondes weren't as awesome." He could only grunt as she continued on. Abruptly, she stopped and all he could do was turn to look over at her.

"Trin…"

"Don't you Trin me, we've got a hell of a long day in a few hours. After all my oh so loving boyfriend has just volunteered me to help him put together a reunion for a bunch of people I've never met, and who's numbers I'm going to have to call Haley for. And that's not even including the ones, like Billy!, who don't even live on this planet. Plus I'm going to have to get together with Aisha and Tanya to start planning how this would work out."

"Babe, I told you I've been planning this for some time now an—"

He stopped as he felt Trini's hand on his cheek, slowly patting him.

"Sweetie, I love you. But let's be honest here, things like this should be left up to the more organized rangers in our collective grouping. You guys may be good at making stuff go boom, but event planning and organizing a place for all of this to go down discreetly enough so that we can be ourselves is something that's going to require a more feminine touch."

Having been told so nicely to butt out, Jason grabbed one of his shoes from his side of the bed and threw it at the light switch, effectively turning off the light. Tomorrow was going to start an interesting round of calls. After all, they couldn't put an e-mail together that they could send to everyone saying, "Hey, let's all us Rangers get together!" If only it could be that simple.

* * *

Hey everyone. I was able to get this chapter out pretty fast so that's good. I hope you're all excited about the prospects of a Ranger Reunion. I've always liked a bunch of the stories that I've read involving them, but one thing I've never liked is that whole waiting thing in between chapters and the eventual build up to it. Since the stories I write are the stories I'd love to read, the way that I'm writing this story is in a more traditional way. Needless to say, Act II will start on the day of the Reunion. Also, I love writing long chapters and dealing with an entire scene to it's completion. Although I'm breaking some traditional writing rules, one of the reasons I write fanfiction is because I like being in the world that I'm writing it, so I hope you don't mind lingering in that world with me. I like to enjoy it. Anyways, the next chapter should be up pretty quick. I'm typically a fast writer-to give you a frame of reference I wrote everything for chapter one and the prologue the two nights ago and posted it at about 1:00 AM my time. So there's only been roughly a day and some change in between working on and posting this chapter. And no, I don't spend all day writing this-this is like the candy I munch and snack on during random times of the day-when working on my other projects gets to be a little tiring. Oh man, I think I've become a rambler. Next chapter should be up by Sunday at the latest.

On another note, I know I didn't put this on any of my other chapters, but if you guys wouldn't mind doing me the favor of leaving me some reviews and letting me know what you guys want to see more/less of concerning dialog, wit, or descriptions, or anything like that. I figure that most of the people reading this story have some pretty good grasp of how the characters look, but if you'd like me to go heavier or lighter or something just let me know and I'll adjust my writing style to the kind of story you guys want to read.

Thanks for reading, I hope you like it.

Eternally yours,

Divinitas Intereo


	4. Act I Pt III (The Call)

This chapter is dedicated to -PinkRangersForever, who likes long chapters. ;)

* * *

Act I Pt III

Scene I

The hours before the morning arrived were always something Wes looked forward to. There had been a time in his life when he'd gone entire months without seeing a sunrise. That time had since ended, but it had taken a number of events, and a connection to a legacy that existed before him, and would exist after him to nudge him to find the ultimate purpose in his life. The cool air of Silver Hills washed over him, the stars were just beginning to fade, and everything around was quiet and peaceful. Again, it wasn't something that his life had always been, but he was happy that even as one of the leaders of the Silver Guardians, he was able to find a sense of peace.

With his back to the door of his house, and being out of uniform, wearing just a red t-shirt along and some pajama pants, he almost wanted to laugh at his current informality. These days he was all about the uniform, and he was extremely proud to wear it. The early hours he would get up at now were in complete contrast to how things used to be before, but he could completely get used to—had gotten used to the idea of waking up to these peaceful moments and spending just a small portion of his day absorbing in the quiet moments before the dawn broke through, and the day proper began.

It wasn't a shock to Wes when he felt two arms sneak in through his own and wrap him in a hug from behind. With her head lying on his back, and the light but close embrace she was giving him, the thought that this might be what heaven was like crossed him mind. "You're up earlier than usual."

Her voice was literally music to his ears. There had been a time when he'd thought he would have to spend the rest of his life without ever hearing it again. A time when he had sent her away to try and save her, only to discover that she would break every rule in the book to come back and save him. Twice. A grin spread across his lips, his hands coming to cover the top of hers, reveling in the feel of her.

"I didn't wake you did I?" Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, the first thing he would do was turn to the left side of the bed and check if she was honestly still there. Even after 4 years, it still felt like a dream at times. Having her here with him, in a place so foreign to her that even though she was from the same planet, it was still taking some time getting used to was honestly a dream come true. There had been a time when he had thought about compensation for everything that he did, meeting her had been enough. What he had with her now though, he didn't think he could ever do enough to possibly pay back whoever it was that had brought her back to him. As much as he loved Silver Hills, she was his everything.

"No, I was getting up and saw you out here. Thought I'd join you for a little bit, you know, keep on familiarizing myself with the stars around here." That was one of the things he liked best about her. She noticed subtle details like that. It wasn't hard to remember the first time she had completely opened up to him. The night they had finally found their way back to each other had been fantastic, passionate, and slightly reckless. They'd taken each other in the open under the night sky—afterwards she had been looking up at the skies before giving him a view into just how different the world she came from really was. Apparently a thousand years from now, some of the very stars they were currently gazing at wouldn't be around, or would have changed colors to one degree or another.

"What about you though, why are you awake—I've noticed you gone for about the last hour." God, he loved that. Ever since she came back to him, they'd been linked in a way he'd never be able to express or understand. It felt good.

"I dunno, I just got the feeling that something big is going to happen today, I've got this weird excited feeling going on right now." With a little giggle on her part she repositioned herself to where she was standing in front of him, still clutching onto him. Their relationship was in complete contrast to when they'd first met. At first she barely wanted to talk to him—now they found excuses, any would do, to be with each other as much as possible. She was wearing one of his shirts over the pink tank top and shorts she normally wore to bed, it was a crisp morning today. The look gave him a couple of ideas on what he'd like to do with the rest of the morning.

"I didn't know I was engaged to Trip." With a bit of a chuckle on his part, he kissed her forehead and just enjoyed the feeling of her. Eric had once asked what it was like having Jen back, but he wasn't able to express it. It was comparable to dying really. When she had left, although he had been able to live without her, it was like she had taken every color, every sense of luster from the world along with her. Having her back was like introducing color to his world again. Everything was better with her around, and as unlike him as it was, pink had secretly become one of his favorites. Even with four years with her, every day he woke up to her only got better and better for him.

"How about I spend the morning reminding you just exactly who you're engaged to?" The comment caused the sweetest smile to show up on her face. He'd be the first to admit he was absolutely addicted to Jen in every single way. The fact that the sun was rising behind her and now outlined her in an azure light was almost comically romantic and symbolic. She was like the sun to him, one that he could lift and run to their room with.

Reaching up and stealing a kiss from his lips, she pulled back before he could return it, with a receding, "What was my fiancés name again?", whispered as she looked up at him. Without even having to think about it he lifted her up bridal style, with a small squeak coming from her as he did it. No sooner than she was in his arms than did his lips reconnected to hers. She was seriously more than a drug to him. Each kiss incited an even stronger passion, and if he didn't navigate his way to their room again, the floor was about to get a very nice surprise for the morning.

Walking as carefully as he could back to their room, he lowered her onto their bed, the covers were already drawn back, and her fingers were already digging into his hair, grabbing at clusters of it while he lowered them to the bed. God, how it was possible that even after all this time she still felt this good he would never know. All he knew was that the shirt she was wearing was getting in the way, and she tasted too good to bother breaking this kiss for even a moment. Instinct took over, his hands grabbing at the collar of the shirt, and with only a mild amount of effort, he ripped it straight down the middle. The small giggle from Jen in between their kisses only incited them to go father, his lips tracing a line from her jaw, to her neck, her slight breathlessness followed him down. Again, her tank top was getting in his way—he'd buy her new clothes later, right now he just neede—a six toned beep sounded from the phone on his nightstand. _You've got to be kidding me._

Considering for a moment to ignore it, it became impossible due to the fact that Jen had reached over and grabbed it for him. Propping himself up on an elbow so he wouldn't have to leave his weight on Jen, he checked his phone—the alert that had came through was a signal to let him know that his phone had just been attached to a secure line and that he was about to receive a call. A slight look of frustration came over his face, but when he looked back at Jen, she had a slightly evil gleam in her eyes. Thinking about that for a second, it didn't take too long after the tone had alerted him than his phone started ringing. Whoever was calling knew his personal procedures pretty well, the six toned beep was to let him know that this was a call that couldn't be ignored no matter what—if the phone had just began ringing, he would have broken it. Picking up the call, he pressed the phone to his ear,

"This is Wes, go ahead." And the evil gleam in Jen's eye came to fruition. No sooner than he had answered his phone did she start her attack. The feather soft kisses she began planting on him, slowly were going to make this conversation a very hard one to pay attention to. It sucked being a Silver Guardian at times—it was only just after 6:00 and he was already getting calls.

_"Hey Wes, it's been awhile."_ The slight jolt of shock that went through his body didn't go unnoticed by his fiancé. She stopped what she was…doing at the moment to look up at him, curiosity in her eyes. He loved the look in her eyes. When she had first shown up, the overconfident thing had been hot for awhile, but there was something to be said about a woman with a look of curiosity in her eyes. Getting up a little better, he checked the number and confirmed where it was coming from. Wow.

"Jason, it's an honor—what's up?" At the name, and after the slight sequence occurring before the call, Jen knew immediately who was calling. The way her eyes widened, along with the look of complete shock on her face made him smile. Oddly enough, in Jen's time Ranger history was something that everyone in the future took as a big deal—and although any Ranger from this time was looked up to and respected, she had remarked to him after he had detailed the exploits of his moon mission with Jason—while a little start struck, that meeting the original leader of the Power Rangers here on earth was something comparable to meeting Abraham Lincoln, or oddly enough, U2. She had a thing for U2.

Putting the phone on speaker so Jen could listen in she almost squealed when his voice came back through the line. Fan girl Jen was hot.

_"I'm not calling at a bad time am I?"_ The unadulterated and unabashed headshaking of his dear lover almost made him laugh.

"Not at all, just a little surprised by your call is all. Is there something I can do for you?"

_"Actually, yeah there is. Are you and your team doing anything about a month from now?"_

Jen's eyes were practically bulging out of her head, as she again shook her head no. He wasn't actually sure what the schedule for he and the others of the Time Force crew was a month from now, but apparently if he didn't say they were free, he was going to be in bed with a very upset Jen—and he knew from her excitement that this call could make her either very happy with him, or very, EXTREMELY agitated with him. So:

"No, nothing at all, what's up?"

_"Oh that's great to hear. Earlier this morning, Trini—my girlfriend and the original Yellow, found out that two of our friends, Katherine Hilliard and Kimberly Hart, were going to be moving back into the general area. While we were talking, we discussed getting our team all in the same room for a get together. Well, that got us thinking that if we did that, Tommy's new team, the Dino Thunder team, would be cool to meet. From there we progressed to thinking that it would be awesome to meet every team that came after us—you know, a way of honoring our mentor Zordon by gathering every team who's joined the legacy he left behind for earth. Anyways, right now a couple of us are going around and getting in touch with the various teams that exist and extending an invitation to join us for what we'd like to be a three day event. A venue hasn't been chosen for it, but as soon as everything is set in stone we'll be letting everyone know. Is this something that you and your team would be interested in doing?"_

Jen wasn't the only one start struck now. Although when the names of Katherine Hilliard and Kimberly Hart had come through the line, he had sworn that her eyes were going to pop out of her sockets. If he remembered correctly, those were the names of two of the first Pink Rangers. Normally, being overwhelmed at the thought of something didn't really happen to him, but the thought of meeting the people who were universally known as "Zordon's Chosen", as Jen had told him once, was a little daunting. He had been around two of them for the whole moon mission—and he had to admit that it had been hard not to glare at Jason, and if he wanted to be completely honest, he'd almost broken out in nervous sweat the first time he had met Tommy. If there was a name that was whispered with just a bit more reverence than any other ranger in history—it was his.

Before he couldn't even bring himself to answer, Jen practically blurted out,

"Yes! That would be so amazing, you can consider us there, and it'd be so amazing to meet all of you!"

_"Oh okay, that's awesome. But I'm pretty sure this isn't Wes, mind of I ask who it is?"_

Apparently, the thought that she would actually have to have a small conversation hadn't occurred to Jen.

_"You guys still on the line?"_ Before Wes could answer again, Jen found her voice again.

"Yes! Uhh, I mean, yeah we're still here, sorry about that. My name is Officer Jen Scotts, Time Force Pink, it's a pleasure to meet you sir!" Oh man, she was on the edge of hysterics. He had rarely, if ever, heard Jen of all people stutter.

_"Oh, right, I remember Wes mentioning you before we left the Nasada base. It's a pleasure to meet you too. Kim and Kat will be excited to meet another pink—they're kind of put out by the fact that Trini has two Yellows to kick it with, while they only have each other. Then again, the fact that they've been living with each other for the past two years has got to have been interesting. I've never seen their apartment, but from what I remember of the way they used to dress, I wouldn't be surprised to find the entire thing was pink." _

"Yes sir, I'm sure it'd be pink too sir."

A little chuckle followed from the other side of the line as Jason responded with, _"Just Jason, please. Sir makes me feel older than I actually am and the way things are heading, I'd rather not have to deal with midlife crises at 26."_

The blush on Jen's cheeks was classic. She was actually embarrassed, nervous, and shy—and all this was just over hearing his voice over the phone! Oh he was so down for this, if for nothing else just so he could see the reaction Jen would have to meeting all of "Zordons' Chosen"

"Of course…Jason." This was going to be too much fun.

_"Okay great. Well, I'll let the two of you get back to your morning; there are a lot of people to call. Do you mind doing us the favor and notifying your entire team on our behalf? Although we'd love to extend a personal invitation to every Ranger, there just wouldn't be enough time, and Trini and myself have already taken today off just so we can get a start on getting in touch with all the various teams that exist." _

Deciding he'd better take over before Jen got on some trip about being sent on a quest by one of Zordon's Chosen, he spoke up.

"Yeah Jason, we'd have no problem doing that. Thanks for the invitation, and we can't wait to see you and the others there."

_"Alright guys, be seeing you soon, and may the power protect you."_

"Same to you." Hanging up the phone Wes turned to look at Jen who was just sitting there staring at the phone with a look of pure awe on her face. He could hear it in her head right now, 'I just talked to Jason…' on repeat. With a slight chuckle, he walked behind her and wrapped both of his arms around her waist, laying a quick kiss on her neck.

"So, not that that's over with, how about we ge—"

"We've got to tell everybody!" And with that excited squeal she ran out the room, torn shirt, short shorts, and pink tank top with the makings of being ripped off on, most likely heading for the nearest Ranger—which just so happened to be Eric. Walking out of his room to follow her, he caught her turning from the kitchen to the side of the house that belonged to Eric. They had been rooming together every since the silver guardians had been passed down to Wes, and they hadn't ever seen a reason to stop even after Jen and himself had gotten engaged. It was a comfortable arrangement having the two of them in the same place since the Silver Guardians knew exactly where to find them if they ever needed them.

With a slight jog, he caught up to Jen, just as she was bursting into Eric's room, most likely giving him a—

"WHAT THE HELL JEN!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"SHUT THE DOOR!" Unable to stop looking in time, Wes was now privy to Eric and Taylor. Bare. Ass. Nude. It was a bit of a shock to his system looking in that the only thing that even came to mind was,

"OH NO ERIC THE ACROBAT, YOU BASTARD!" And then all he could do from there was burst out laughing having caught his roommate, best friend, and partner in one of the sexual positions they'd once seen in a porn back in school and both swore they'd try one day. He didn't stay laughing for long though, as Eric had jumped up almost as soon as the door had been opened, sliding Taylor off to the side, and had slammed the door in their faces. No matter though, Wes couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh my God Eric, I'm SO sorry!" Jen was making fast with the apologies, while glaring at him. He was sure the laughing wasn't helping the situation, but still; this was just too much.

"Have you ever heard of knocking? I don't know how they do things in the future, but here in 2005, it's a great way to let someone know you're about to invade their personal space!" Through all the talking, Wes had finally stopped laughing, and could hear the two of them shuffling around on the inside, most likely getting dressed.

"You're such a damned pervert Wes!" That had come from Taylor, and he could only let out a small shrug as Taylor and Eric walked out of the room, looking a bit more disgruntled than either one of them were used to. Eric was some faded blue jeans and shoving a shirt over his head, while Taylor was sporting a yellow shirt with snoopy pajama pants. Needless to say, her hair was messy.

"I thought you two were broken up at the moment?" That earned them both icy looks as both Eric and Taylor were walking out of the room and towards the kitchen. Sharing a smirk with Jen, Wes followed the other couple. Oddly enough, this wasn't as awkward as it should be. For any other grouping of people, this would probably be a big moment for blushes and stammering, but living under the same roof—or almost in Taylors case, for the past four years, they'd caught each other a couple of times, either through forgetfulness, or due to pure and simple raw passion. It'd led to a couple of comedic situations most of the time…and new living room furniture on one particular embarrassing night for he and Jen.

"It's a long story. Care to explain why the two of you came barging into my room this early in the morning? Its Wes day to captain the day crew today and I didn't have to be out and about for another 3 hours." Wes could understand the look of agitation on his face. Blue balls were a bitch.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too, I thought after the whole living room fiasco that we'd all agreed on the knocking policy in this house." Fiery as ever, Wes knew that Taylor enjoyed ribbing at he and Jen for having caught them in that particularly awkward…position, and so it was with a slight smirk on her face this time that she was grabbing four glasses from the counter while dragging out the orange juice. Temperamental though she may be, Taylor was also extremely sweet at times.

"It's actually my fault," Accepting a glass from Eric, who had poured the juice for them, she sat down on one of the barstools that sat in front of the island style table that they had in their kitchen. Taking a quick sip from her juice, she continued on.

"See, while Wes and I were in the room, he gotacallfromJASONTHEORIGINAL RED!" Wes couldn't help but wince. She had started off so great, but as soon as the excitement she had momentarily lost over the incident just now had come back to her while speaking, she basically blurted everything out in one go.

"Say again Jen?" The other couple had confused looks on their faces, their own glasses stuck in their hands while they glimpsed a side of Jen that they had most likely never seen before. After taking a deep breath his sweet, fan girl baby gave it another shot.

"Jason, the Original Red, just called Wes." And with that Eric's attention was on full alert. Although he didn't like to admit it, and as much as he tried not to act like it, when they had been on that Red ranger team up mission, he had been hanging off of every word Jason had been saying. The respect that Eric held for the original Red Ranger was something that always managed to impress Wes, since it took a lot for anyone to impress him, or gain his respect in general. He was a hard individual. Taylor's response was completely out of character for her though.

"Oh god, what did he say!" She near on squealed out, and would have dropped her glass if Eric hadn't put his hand out to catch it. Apparently he had an amazing story about how they had met Brad Pitt once while in L.A on a vacation with on another a few years back. Seeing it first hand was weird.

"Apparently he and the others of Zordon's Chosen are arranging a massive get together of nothing but Rangers about a month from now, and he was calling to invite the Time Force Rangers!" And Jen was on cloud nine as both she and Taylor both went fan girl over the prospects.

"Do you think the original Yellow is going to be there? I'd love a chance to meet her!"

"Apparently she and Jason are an item—he also let on that Katherine Hilliard and Kimberly Hart were going to be there, and are basically the reason that this entire event is being put on since they're moving back to California."

"Huh, I guess we aren't the only two Ranger couples in the universe." The look on their faces was classic. Sharing a look with Eric, they both rolled their eyes at this entire conversation. Leave it to the girls. Not to mention that this was completely out of character for both of them, but then again the only thing that was going through his mind were the prospects of seeing all the other Red Rangers again, and the ones that had joined the legacy since Cole. It was something else being in a room with people who really understood every word you were saying.

"Did Jason say why they're doing this—outside of the two Rangers moving back?"

"Well, it had something to do with them honoring their mentor Zordon. Apparently they want to gather everyone who has been a ranger here to celebrate and pay homage to Zordon. Initially they had said that it was just going to be the group that had been chosen by Zordon, but then they thought it would be a cool idea for all of us to finally meet." The exchange between himself and Eric had both of them feeling excited.

"Speaking of Legacy, I heard that Tommy had created a team of his own, that team that popped up in Reefside last year." Taylor's head popped up at that.

"He _created his own team?_ How in the hell do you create your own team? I thought he was just a bad ass ranger."

"Well, I guess there's a reason why he's known as the greatest ranger of all time." The look on Jen's face was beyond impressed.

"Yeah, well, he did create the Reefside Rangers. I had the chance to talk to Carter a few months back, and he passed on that T.J had told him that Tommy had created the Dino Thunder team to handle that whole Mesagog situation that had popped up around there. You know, I'm really happy that Silver Hills isn't as close to Angel Grove as Mariner Bay and Reefside. It seems like anything within an hour or two times to Angel Grove is target to constant monster attacks."

Eric looked up in complete agreement. As much as they loved being the Silver Guardians, it was nice to know that imminent death was no longer guaranteed to be every day if they weren't careful.

"Honestly Wes, I've never been able to see how Tommy and Andros do it. From what I understood, it was the two of them that had been on constant vigilance and it was because of them that we had enough warning to be able to fend off Serpentera before it became a major problem." Wes nodded his head in agreement.

"I completely get where you're coming from. I was a Ranger for all of maybe a year actively—and for some of that time Alex took over. When I think about Tommy though, it's kind of crazy. After the Serpentera fiasco when we went out for drinks and you were hanging out with T.J, Leo, Carter, I had the chance to sit down with Jason and Andros. They're the ones who let me onto the fact that he'd not only been a Red twice—because you know he was the original Turbo Red before T.J, but that he'd also been the original Green and White." It was an impressive resume to say the least, since everyone in this room had served with at least two of those colors.

"What I find the craziest thing is that Taylor was a Ranger alongside three people who've worn the colors Tommy has." It was no small feat—and Eric being impressed was always something.

"Man, I couldn't imagine dating a guy like that. I mean, sure he's a legend and everything, but after everything that we went through with Master Org, and watching Merrick and Princess Shayla's whirlwind romance—just the idea of dealing with a person who was constantly involved in the fight; the worry that had to come every time he morphed. Wondering if this would be the mission that he wouldn't come back from." The slight shudder Taylor gave at that thought caused a look to cross Eric's face. Although it had been for a good reason, it had never really sat well with Taylor that Eric had gone on the Red Ranger mission. He'd even caught a little hell from Jen about that entire ordeal. With the fact that Aurico and Leo had both almost died during that, it had made them worry more than they should have had to.

"Well, if I'm right, that's the thing about Tommy. Apparently he hasn't had any kind of relationship since he was dating one of the other Rangers back when Red was his thing." Wow, ranger gossiping was not something he normally did, but the originals were always a topic of interest whenever they were brought up. One of the main things was the fact that they were the most mysterious about all of the Rangers. If other Rangers who had personally known them hadn't told other Rangers about them, their identities would still be unknown. Apparently one of the oaths that Zordon had implemented on them had been an oath of secrecy. If he thought about it, they were probably the most selfless Rangers out of the entire legacy.

"So, do you guys think that they're going to call my team too?"

"From what Jason said, it looks like they're going to be gathering every team, although I don't know who he's going to be calling from your team."With that Taylor had a small, but worried look on her face.

"With our luck, he's most likely going to call Cole."

"Something wrong with calling Cole?"

"Come on Jen, you've fought alongside him before. He was a great Ranger, and a good leader—but he's kind of got some weird priorities. He may take the call and everything, and then be right back to the next lost pigeon he finds walking across the part." At that comment, Wes and Eric had problems keeping a straight face; along with having to hold back a bit of a laugh.

"What?"

"I don't think that's going to happen Taylor."

"Wes, I was on a team with the guy for awhile."

"Yes, I'm sure you were babe, but you didn't see Cole when he met Jason and Tommy—I think he about wet himself with his excitement." At the last, neither Eric nor Wes could hold in their laughter. It wasn't that they didn't like Cole or anything; he was just a bit out there.

"Huh, I never would have taken Cole for a fanboy."

Looking around the table, they shared a look.

"Maybe you should get in touch with Cole soon though, just to make sure that he doesn't—"

"Yeah, gotcha Jen. I'll be sure to call the shelter he works at and let him know."

**Act I Pt III **

_Scene II_

"So, how is it actually living with Carter?"

Dana couldn't do anything but smile as she looked back over from the kitchen in the apartment that Carter and her shared. Although Apartment was a very loose definition for it; the thing was massive! Either way, it was crazy to think of anyone from the team as a solidified couple other than Joel, who was happily enjoying his days as a married man. It sucked that it'd been a good while since she had seen any of her fellow Rangers—there was always something to do, and some new challenge to conquer. Ever since she had left the team, the only Rangers she had managed to keep in some contact with were Dana and Chad; even that was kind of short at times though.

"Seriously though Dana, back when we were on the Ranger team, he was always so by the book that it's hard to imagine him any other way. How does he romance you, by reading you regulations on the Fire Station?" With that Dana couldn't help but laugh. Kelsey smiled. It was really great of her to have her over, and the moment she had gotten here it had been like no time at all had passed at all.

"It's not like that Kelsey; Carter really is a sweet guy when it comes down to it. Back then though, he was just so concerned with defending the city, and with everything that had been going down around that time, he was always pressuring himself to be the leader that all of us deserved." As she said it, Kelsey could only imagine the weight that had been on Carters shoulders—especially with a Ranger like herself on the team. She had always been a slightly reckless person, which had caused troubles on the team more often than not. Watching Dana now as she was getting together a light breakfast composed mostly of fruits, cheeses, and organics she could completely see why the woman had once been a model. Miss Health kept her looks by sticking to the nutritional book. Personally, Physical activity rocked.

"I can see that. How has it been though?" Dana smiled a beaming smile.

"It's been great. I mean, aside from the fact that we both work crazy schedules due to the whole Doctor dating a Fireman thing, it's nice being with someone who can understand the demands of a life like that. Not to mention the fact that we're both used to these whacky schedules and having to be called away at times due to our more colorful days." At that, Kelsey could only smile. She had noticed the connection the two were developing back when they had been Rangers together. She was just surprised it had taken so long before the two of them had decided to make an even bigger commitment. The shiny new diamond ring on Dana's finger protested just how big a commitment it was. Moving into the same apartment had taken three years of dating, and only after Carter had gotten back from some super secret mission that had something to do with the moon. She'd never really gotten the full details behind that.

"So where is Mr. Fireman right now?"

"Out with Ryan, and believe me, that is a weird friendship to watch." That was completely understandable.

"How is that by the way—the relationship with Ryan?"

Walking over from the kitchen and setting the plate she had prepared down on their coffee table in front of the T.V they had, Dana paced a bit before sitting down, and propping for Kelsey to join her. Although she preferred activity to inactivity, she'd make a concession. Sitting down across from Dana on the single, she motioned for her to continue.

"Even after all this time, it's still weird Kelsey. I mean, we've had time to get to know one another and everything nowadays, but whenever I reminisce about a childhood memory, or talk about the things dad and I used to do with one another—it just feels so awkward knowing that his childhood was almost nonexistent." And that was the most interesting brother sister relationship she had ever seen.

"I mean, Carter told me about this other Red Ranger—the Red Space Ranger Andros actually," Kelsey nodded at the name. There weren't many people anywhere who didn't know the legendary Space Rangers, especially their Leader and 2nd in Command, Andros and T.J. T.J was basically the face of every Ranger team to come before him, and Andros was kind of an unforgettable face. Not to mention the fact that they were the first Rangers ever to reveal their identities to the public. Before that, and even still, the people who had been Rangers before them were complete mysteries.

"Anyways, apparently Andros had a younger sister named Karone who had been kidnapped when they were just children. It left him with some serious issues, but what sucked even more was the fact that when they both grew up, Karone became the sworn enemy of the Power Rangers, she had been brain washed into becoming Astronema. They fought each other for so long before Andros found out and saved her, but still. After her stint as Astronema though, Karone became the Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger."

"I thought that was Kendrix?" She was sure the woman's name had been Kendrix.

"Oh yeah, when they came to help us out, it was Kendrix, from what I hear it's a long story. Basically Kendrix died saving Cassie from something called a psycho ranger. Karone replaced her on the team until the end of the Lost Galaxy Ranger's mission, and at the end of it all, they did something or another on Mirinoi that caused a lot of the inhabitants of that planet to come back, along with Kendrix." She couldn't help the look of confusion on her face.

"I know Kelsey, sometimes I think out team, even with what we dealt with, may have been the simplest one." They both shared a nod at that.

"It would be nice to meet Karone and Andros, although I have no idea how that would even work out. From what I know Andros is still active from time to time, and Karone lives with him on that ship of theirs. Who knows how often the two of them even come to earth." Kelsey could see why Dana would want to meet the two of them. It seemed like their story could relate a lot to what her and Ryan were going through. A slight shudder passed through her at just the thought of all of that stuff. Space and fighting siblings. Their team really did have it lucky.

"Who knows Dana, maybe one day you'll get your chance." No sooner than she had said that, did the house phone ring. A six chimed bell sounded before the ringing happened, which caused Kelsey to look at the phone oddly. Sparing a glance at Dana, she could see her friend was lost in thought, not to mention she was closer to the phone anyways. Getting up, she walked over and pressed the talk button.

"Hello, this is the Greyson- Mitchell Residence, this is Kelsey speaking, how can I help you?"

_"Oh, hi. My name is Trini Kwan, and I'm looking for Carter Greyson, is he currently in at the moment?"_

"I'm sorry, Carter is actually out right now, is there anything I can help you with?"

_"Oh, that's a bummer…wait, did you say your name was Kelsey?"_

"Umm Yes, yes I did." She gave the phone a weird look. People still said bummer?

_"As in Kelsey Winslow?"_

"Yes…that's me. Excuse me, but would you mind if I ask who's calling again?" By this time, Dana had caught on to the fact that the phone call wasn't the run of the mill phone call and had walked over. Motioning for Kelsey to place the phone on speaker, she spoke up.

"Hello, this is Dana Mitchell—would you mind telling us what this call is in regards to Ms…?"

_"Oh, I'm sorry; I was just kind of surprised there for a moment. Trini, my name is Trini Kwan. I was Earths Original Yellow Ranger—the one from Angel Grove." _

The feeling of a vacuum closing around them occurred as both Dana and she stared at the phone.

"Come again?" Kelsey could only stare at the phone as Dana asked for confirmation of what they had just heard. With what sounded like a little laugh, the woman on the other end of the line responded.

_"My name is Trini Kwan, and I was Earths first Yellow Ranger—the one from Angel Grove. I'm going to guess right now that I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dana Mitchell the Pink Lightspeed Rescue Ranger, and Kelsey Winslow the Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger, correct?" _ Although they didn't try to hide the fact that they were Power Rangers, it wasn't something that you brought up in regular conversation. Getting a call from someone out of the blue like this was pretty weird though.

"Yes, that's correct—I'm Dana, former Pink Lightspeed Rescue Ranger…"

_"Okay, awesome, I found two of you! And one of you is a Yellow at that! No offense Dana, you know; it's just an attachment to the color and all."_

"None take…umm, I'm sorry, but what is this call about Ms. Kwan?" The look on either of their faces had to be priceless. Kelsey could only take a wild guess at it, due to the fact that they were both having a little bit of a hard time swallowing it right now. Kelsey could tell that Dana was having composure issues, and as for herself? It felt surreal.

_"Trini, Please, you can call me Trini."_

"Okay then, Trini, what is this call in regards to?"

_"Actually, I was hoping for a chance to speak to Carter Greyson, but it seems fortune is smiling down on me right now, because instead I get the chance to meet and speak with the two of you. It's always nice to meet new people that held up the Legacy after we passed it on." _

"So this phone call is just to say hello?"

_"Well, in a manner of speaking, yes it is. You see, a few years back, Carter went on a mission with two of my teammates, my boyfriend Jason Scott, who was the original Red Ranger of Earth, and Tommy Oliver—he's been too many originals to bother listing. Anyways, Carter went on a mission with Jason and Tommy. Recently Jason and I discovered that two of our fellow Rangers, Kimberly Hart and Katherine Hilliard, are moving back to the local area. We got to thinking it would be nice if we could gather up the old crew to hang out with one another, all in the same place, for the first time in who knows how long. It sounded like a good idea, so we agreed on it—I don't know if you've heard, but recently there was a new team of Rangers in Reefside—not too far from where Mariner Bay is actually."_

"Yes, I'd heard of them."

_"Okay, awesome. Well, that team was created and mentored by Tommy, and we thought it would be cool to meet them as well—along with everyone else who had every fought under the title of a Power Ranger. Our patron and mentor Zordon started a Legacy with us, and we thought it would be the highest honor we could pay him to gather up every Ranger that has donned the colors to date in celebration of all we've managed to achieve since he instituted the original five of us, and brought Earth its first line of defense against creatures that normal agencies wouldn't be able to stop." _As Trini took a small breath on the other end of the line, Dana and Kelsey shared a bit of an awestruck look. They were talking, on the phone, to a living, breathing legend. A person that they had both looked up to, especially Kelsey.

_"So the reason I'm calling is to extend a personal invitation to the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers to join us. The event is going to be held a month from now, and we would be honored to have the both of you, and your team there with us to celebrate this. The way it's looking right now is that we want to have a three day event to commemorate the Legacy of Power that Zordon left us, and to give us all enough time to get to know each other. Honestly it would mean the world to us if you guys could make it."_

Kelsey stared at the phone as Dana looked at it as well. A month was enough time, in her mind to make this happen. Sure, she had been planning to go on a three week long sailing trip around that time, but the chance to meet them...the originals. Looking at Dana, Kelsey could tell the same thoughts were passing through her head. As a Doctor, her schedule had to be jam packed, not to mention Carters but—

"Trini, I can't speak for the entire team at the moment…we all live very different lives and everything, but I can speak for myself, Kelsey, Carter, and my brother Ryan in letting you know that we will definitely be there. Thank you so much for the invitation."

_"Morphenominal! We're all looking forward to meeting you."_

"Excuse me, Trini?" it was the first time since she had asked who was speaking that she'd had the gut to speak.

_"Yeah, what's up Kelsey?" _ It didn't take the woman long to feel comfortable calling a complete stranger by her first name. Then again, this woman had accomplished so many feats in her life, done so much most likely, that there had to come a certain sense of self confidence in that.

"I'd just like to say that I can't wait to meet you…the original Yellow; there's a lot I'd love to talk to you about."

_"I feel the same way Kelsey, and that's one of the reasons why we're doing this. It's going to be the first time in history that every group of Rangers is going to be gathered in the same room. It's an exciting time for us." _

"And for us too, the thought of all of us in a room, it sounds like it's going to be…what was that word you used?"

With a light chuckle on the other end of the line,

_"Morphinominal. It's a word our first Pink, Kimberly Hart, came up with to describe something so fantastic that it could only be equated and tied to our heritage."_

"Well then, I guess it's going to be Morphinominal." The smile that was on her face would have been impossible to hide.

_"Okay, awesome. If you can please contact the rest of your team and see if they can make it, it would mean so much to us to have every ranger there. Oh, and if you need to reach us, you can call this number, and if anyone else but me answers, just tell them you're looking for Dr. Trini Kwan." _

Okay, honestly, how humble and kind could a woman be? They'd been talking for a good little minute now, and aside from mentioning she was Earths first Yellow Ranger—which had been completely necessary due to the subject matter, it had taken the full length of the conversation to mention she was a Doctor too?

"I'll be sure to do that Trini. If you don't mind me asking though, what field are you in?"

_"Oh, nothing as great as you Dr. Mitchell; I'm a psychologist."_

"Dana, please Trini."

Although they couldn't see it, they could almost feel the smile on the other side of the line.

_"Well, we look forward to seeing you Dana and Kelsey. We'll be in touch."_ And with that the line went dead. Hanging up the phone, Kelsey sat it back down on the charger.

"Did that actually just happen?"

"Yeah Kelsey…I think it did."

Momentary loss took over, when the front door to their apartment opened up. In walked Carter and Ryan. The two of them looked like they had just gotten back from a severe workout, but it didn't take too much for them to catch on to the mood in the room.

Walking over to Dana, Carter gave her a quick kiss on the check before a tender, "What's going on?" Slipped through his lips. Looking up at him, Dana didn't spare a moment.

"Carter, we just got a phone call from a woman by the name of Dr. Trini…"

"Kwan, Dr. Trini Kwan as in the original Yellow Power Ranger?" They both looked up at him in, curiosity lining their eyes.

"Well, yeah, that would be the one. How do you know her?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't. I heard about her from Jason Scott, the Original Red Ranger and original Leader of the first team of Power Rangers." By this point, Ryan had come to stand next to Kelsey, motioning his head in question. She just nudged her head back over to the happy couple.

"Well, what did Trini have to say?"

"Apparently, the original Rangers are orchestrating a three day get together a month from now for every team of Rangers to come to. She was calling to personally invite us to join them." And cue the looks of slight shock on Carters face, and complete shock on Ryan's.

"Are you serious?"

"We literally just hung up with her, didn't we Kels?" With a quick nod Kelsey confirmed what Dana was saying.

"Oh, that's great! We have to let everyone know!" And with that, they go to work, tracking down the rest of their team.

**Act I Pt III **

_Scene III_

The Wind Ninja academy was, for once actually quiet as Cam sat down for a moments peace. Although their Lothar days were behind them, the day to day running of the academy was still as hectic as ever. It had only been about a year since the last time he had donned the Green Samurai Powers, but every now and again, in moments like this, Cam enjoyed the peace and quiet that allowed him to remember everything that had happened in his life. Going back in time and meeting his mother and father as younger students at the academy, along with discovering the fact that Lothar was also his uncle…well sometimes these quiet moments were needed.

It was cool having the other Rangers that had once been students now take on the job of being the instructors of the academy. Although it had once been something he had dreamed about doing as a younger man, nowadays the position he'd fallen into as an advisor to the group was a very comfortable position for him. Sometimes the job did get boring, and more often than not his two cousins were honestly more trouble that they were worth, but still, the fact that he could continue on here was nice to know.

Sitting in the old command center was honestly one of the few places Cam was able to find the peace he sometimes severely needed. Cyber-Cam was currently posing as him and getting some of the more mundane task that he himself needed to do done, and right now it was just time for a little rest and relaxation. A six noted chime sounded through the command center, and Cam looked around wondering what that was. He'd never heard it before, but no sooner than it had sounded than did his father walk into the room. Although it had only been for a comparatively short amount of time, Cam still found it interesting he was able to notice the moment his father walked into the room. Thinking about him as a guinea pig still made him smile at times.

Noticing he was in the room, his father motioned for Cam to come front and center to the main communicator as a line of communication was about to be opened, with a bit of a quizzical look on his face, he went to stand in front of it along with his father. No sooner had the chime been gone than a signal that someone was trying to contact them come in, and his father answered.

"This is Sensei Kanoi Watanabe, it is an honor to get a message from you. To what do we owe this honor?" With an even look of bigger confusion on his face, Cam looked at his father. His father was an orderly man, and one of extreme discipline, but he had never heard the measure of respect in his father's voice laid on so heavy. Who was it that was contacting them?

_"And it's an honor to be speaking to you as well Sensei Watanabe. This is Jason Scott Sir; I was the original Red Ranger of earth. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Tommy informed you of our signal when you fought alongside him in Reefside?" _Had he just said the _Original Red Ranger_! And who was Tommy?

"Yes, Dr. Oliver and I had the pleasure of a conversation with one another while our protégé's were getting to know one another better. He informed me what the six sounding chime meant, and let me say that it is an honor to receive the same call that the six of you would receive from your mentor. As I told Dr. Oliver when he informed me, it is a great loss that we all share in, the death of Zordon of Eltar—there has never been an entity that deserved more honor than him. And I am sure that your mentor would be so proud of the legacy not only he, but that you and your team mates helped to continue on." Well, he'd figured out who Tommy was, although the thought of the outstanding mentor and warrior that was the Black Dino Thunder Ranger being referred to as anything other than Dr. Oliver by someone was a bit weird. With the knowledge of who Tommy was under his belt, an even bigger puzzle came onto the scene. Who was Zordon of Eltar? And why had the respect his father had been speaking with jumped to pure reverence when just mentioning his name? And how did the Original Red Ranger of Earth, the original leader of the Power Rangers of Earth and probably one of the most legendary and respected rangers of all time know Dr. Oliver well enough to not only be on a first name basis with him, but most likely on a nick name one as well?

_"Thank you for that Sensei Watanabe, I know I can speak for my team and myself in saying that we are all highly honored by your words, and that we are thankful that Zordon's legacy continues on—even if all most new Ranger teams these days know of him is the fragment of his name that remains in the Zords." _Huh, Cam had always wondered about why they had called the colossally powerful machines they piloted Zords. Well, that Mystery was solved at last.

"Yes, a tradition that I was honored to uphold when the Ninja Rangers received their Zords. As to the nature of this call, Mr. Scott? After all, it's not every day that we get a summons like this."

_"Yes, right. Onto why I'm calling. Recently, two members of our team, Kimberly Hart, the Original Pink Ranger, and Katherine Hilliard, the woman who replaced Kimberly on our team, Informed us that they were going to be moving back to our neck of the woods from London. My girlfriend Trini Kwan—who was also the original Yellow Ranger, and I decided that it would be nice to gather the old team back together after so long, and decided that instead of just stopping at those of us who had served under Zordon, that we would extend the invitation to each and every single ranger team that has served under the Legacy that Zordon created for us. For us, it would be the highest honor we could pay our mentor, gathering up his legacy all in same place in celebration of everything he has accomplished. So this call is us extending our personal invitation to you, the Ninja Storm Rangers of Blue Bay Harbor to join us. We plan on it being a three day event, and although a location hasn't been chosen yet, we are letting every team know a month in advance so that they can have time to arrange their schedules—if they can join us that is."_

Well, if nothing else, Cam was about ready to shit himself. Shane was a fantastic leader, and Hunter had been a fantastic second in command—along with being a great addition to the Head Sensei position at the Thunder academy. Jason Scott however…even though he had never seen the man and could only hear his voice, the amount of control, self assurance and natural born right to lead that shone through him made him feel like he was standing in front of Dr. Oliver again. He was the only other person that had made him the weight and bearing of a leader just by speaking. It was impressive to say the least.

"Mr. Scott, it would be an honor for us to attend. And I speak on behalf of Both the Wind and Thunder Ninja rangers when I say that we will all be in attendance. Please, keep us updated."

_"Thank you very much for you time Sensei Watanabe. We look forward to seeing you there. May the power protect you."_

"And you as well." With that the call was ended, and Cam stared at his father. He'd never heard anyone bestow that kind of parting on the rangers—with such assurance and faith in the power that had granted them the ability to be able to become Power Rangers and protect the planet that they could grant its protection on others without even a thought to doing so. It was impressive to say the least.

"Cameron," His father's voice broke him out of his momentary thoughts. "Gather up your fellow Rangers and bring them all here please. There's a lot to inform you all on, and it'd be best if I can tell you all together about the Legacy of Power, rather than letting you recover and question me before all of you are in the same place." With only a shake of his head, Cameron nodded, and turned to go and get the other Ninja Storm Rangers.

All of them now sat in front of their Sensei, Cameron looking at each on in turn. Shane had been in the middle of a class, Dustin had been sleeping, Tori and Blake had been about to leave for a date, and Hunter had needed to commute from the Thunder academy in order to be here. Each of them had dropped everything they were doing after they had been called, although he hadn't told them why, he was sure the way his voice sounded was enough for them to get that they were needed. Immediately.

"So, what's this all about Sensei Watanabe?" Shane would be the one to speak first, the instinctual leadership in him coming out now that the entire team had assembled once again. It was weird, even though they were all so close with one another; it felt like it had been forever since all of them had been in the same room as one another.

"Earlier today, Cameron and I received a call from a very special individual. His name was Jason Scott and he was both the Original Red Ranger of Earth, along with being the very first leader of the first team of Power Rangers Earth ever had." The looks of shock that crossed the faces of everyone, including Dustin—who prided himself on the knowledge of other teams of Power Rangers were all classic. Cam was pretty sure his face had looked very similar to the ones they were all wearing at the moment. Hunter was the first one to recover.

"The original Red Ranger—the one that appeared in Angel Grove?"

"Yes Hunter, that would be him."

"Oh man…Dude's that guy was like, my Hero when I was younger! What'd he have to say Sensei!?" Dustin's enthusiasm shone through on overdrive.

"Mr. Scott was calling to inform us of a gathering that the entire team of original Rangers is putting on so that they can formally meet the other teams that carried on the Legacy that they, and their mentor Zordon left behind for all of us to follow." And the sea burst open.

"Oh man, that sounds like it would be so awesome!" Dustin's shout was accompanied by a slight shaking of earth. Talk about over excitement.

"Yeah, the chance to meet the original Rangers—and other girl Rangers aside from Kira would be nice."

"The Original's huh? That would be something." Hunter exclaimed, with Blake nodding his head in agreement.

"The original Red Ranger…I wonder what all of them are like." The room quieted down as Shane's comment fell on them.

"Well, you have a very good idea of what one of them is like. Dr. Oliver of the Reefside Dino Thunder Rangers who we had the chance to help was a member of the original team."

"WHAT!" The collective response in unison caused them all to stare at each other. Letting Shane delegate for them for a moment, Cam could only sit back and listen. No wonder Dr. Oliver had seem so assured in his task—it was nothing new to him.

"Which Ranger was Dr. Oliver before he was the Black Dino Ranger?"

With a slight chuckle at that, Cam's father could only laugh as he sat down on a chair—preparing as if to tell them a long story.

"Well, with Dr. Oliver it's a really long story. Originally, he was the first Green Power Ranger," and Cam immediately felt an even bigger respect for the man. Knowing that the legacy of his Color had started with Dr. Oliver was something that impressed him to no end. Wait—

"What do you mean by originally Dad?"

"Dr. Oliver was also the original White Ranger—along with the second Leader chosen to succeed Jason as leader of the Power Rangers, along with the Red Zeo Ranger, and the first Red Turbo Ranger before he passed on the Torch and Legacy of Power to another. He's the longest serving Ranger of all time, and he is considered to be the Greatest Ranger to have ever lived. Back before you all had been given your powers, it had been Tommy who I had initially turned to when creating the powers you all used, and the Sensei of the Thunder academy did the same."

Complete shock ruled the room. One ranger title after another—it was beyond impressive.

"He could have been a team all by himself…" Cam could tell that Shane was currently lost. Even though they had all met him, been impressed by him, and fought alongside him, to say that they had really been comparable to him—like they had joked after they had left the Dino Rangers, now seemed like a complete joke.

"Oh man, we must have looked like complete rookies to him…" Even head Sensei's could feel the weight when dealing with a person like that.

"Are they all like him?" Tori's question got his father talking again.

"To be honest Tori, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Even much more so than us, the original Rangers were shrouded in mystery. It was Tommy who had approached me when I had began researching for the Wind Ninja Storm powers. As for the rest, he had informed me only of the other leader aside from himself, a Mr. Jason Scott."

"But why were they so secretive about who they were? I mean, the Space Rangers and the Lightspeed Rescue teams didn't really care about hiding who they were—well, at least at the end for the Space Rangers." Everyone turned to look at Dustin.

"What?"

"Unlike those teams Dustin—and unlike any other team in the history of the Rangers, the original Rangers were led and mentored by a very ancient Transdimentional entity known as Zordon of Eltar. It was Zordon who had began the Legacy of Power on Earth, and who had connected Earth to the universal grid known as the Morphing Grid. He made it possible for Power Rangers to exist here on Earth."

This was all really heavy stuff. But with all of that, the only thought on anyone's mind was…"

"So, when do we leave?"

**Act I Pt III**

_Scene IV_

T.J Johnson sped down the Californian highway, the speed of the red Corvette a rush to him, reminding him of his days as the red Turbo Ranger. He loved the speed and position of his former Turbo powers. He'd always preferred them to his later stint as the Blue Space Ranger—although having had the weight of the leadership of the team pass from him to Andros had been an unknown relief. With everything that had happened, the idea that he would have eventually had to have been the one to shatter Zordon's energy tube was something he didn't think he would have been able to do. Not only that, but it had been Andros who had tracked down Tommy and told him the news, something that T.J had told Andros he would have done, but that the leader in Andros had seen that it would have bothered T.j. Along with the addition that he hadn't served under Zordon like Andros and Tommy had.

The thoughts of those days long past brought back the strange strain in his chest that he had experienced. As a leader of the Rangers, the responsibility that had been placed on him was heavy, and it had been hard…near on impossible to stand up in front of Tommy and Jason during the red ranger mission. Out of all the Ranger leaders, T.J's watch had been the one that the Power Chamber had fallen in, and had led to the eventual death of the entity that they all owed everything to.

It was due to all of that that he had become the face of the Power Rangers here. The first line of defense for any Ranger team that didn't bare the additional weight of being a P.I, or 'Public Identity' Ranger as their little society had come to call any ranger who was publicly known. Along with it, he also handled the massive amounts of income from all the Ranger Merchandise that was floating around. It had been an idea suggested by Tommy, Jason, and Adam. After all—being a ranger hadn't been a very well paying job and by acquiring the copyrights to all things Ranger, T.J and a couple of other choice Rangers were able to help, very quietly, the other rangers when they needed it. It was the way most rangers went to College—including himself, and the way some of their business had managed to be opened without immediately being in debt.

The long thought process almost caused him to miss the familiar six toned chime that came from his communicator. It was something he still never took off. Pushing the talk button and hooking it up to his car speakers—he was really going to have to thank Trini for setting his car up with all the security and everything, the communication came through.

"Go Ahead, this is T.J."

_"Hey T.J it's Trini." _

"Hey Trini, what's up? I was just thinking about you."

_"Oh really? Well don't let Jason know about that." _ He couldn't help but laugh. She was such a playful and fun person.

"Very funny Trini, what can I do for you?"

_"Actually, do you know if it would be possible to link the rest of the Turbo and Space team to this? I was going to send them a communication all at once, but I didn't know if Ashley, Andros, and Zhane were here on Earth or not."_

"Well, from what I know Andros, and the others who live on board the Astral Megaship are currently on Mirinoi—I think Karone wanted to pay a visit to her old team, and to see Kendrix again, they have a very close bond."

_"Oh, I can only imagine. Jason told me all about that situation. Well, is it possible to link the rest of the Turbo team?"_

"From what I know, it shouldn't be a problem; they all still wear their communicators religiously."

It didn't take too much longer before he noticed the lines of communication open up. Deciding that speeding down the highway wasn't something that was going to be productive to this conversation; he pulled off, an exit that led him into the desert. He was about 30 miles from Angel grove.

"This is Justin, can we make it quick, I was kind of busy." In the background they could hear someone else saying, "Justin! WHAT THE HELL, WHAT, CAN'T GET IT UP!" T.J couldn't help but laugh at his predicament. Ah, to be a celebrity.

"Cassie here and WHO WAS THAT JUSTIN!"

"I'd like to know the same thing, and like Justin I need this to be quick—the hospital doesn't really take kindly to surgeons leaving in the middle of a surgery."

"Look, I'll tell you guys later, but can we—"

_"Oh, yeah sure. Sorry to catch some of you at a bad time. This is Trini. To be quick about it, Jason and I are throwing a massive ranger gathering in about a month cause Kat and Kim are moving back to the local area and we want every ranger team to be there, you guys down?"_

"Wait, as in every Ranger team?" T.J responded.

_"Yeah, us originals want to meet everyone."_

"You can count me in, now I gotta go before this girl breaks down the door." They could all hear the pounding on Justin's door. Lucky kid.

"Yeah, you can count me in too Trini, it was good to hear for you, but I have to get back."

_"Okay Cool, love you guys, see you soon." _With that, Justin and Carlos communicators died off leaving himself, Cassie and Trini on.

"Oh man, I can't wait to grill into Justin!" Cassie's voice was full of pure evil. She had never stopped looking at Justin as her younger brother. Both she and Ashley had a very bad habit of babying and being slightly over protective of him. He did not envy the kid.

"Down Cassie, he's young, let the kid have some fun. Anyways Trini I am so down."

"Yeah, you can count me in too."

_"Okay awesome, we haven't picked a place yet, but we're working on finding some place discreet so that both P.I Rangers and us good old fashioned S.I Rangers can hang out without having to worry about press or media snooping around."_

"Cool Trini, well I've got to get going guys. Although I'm nowhere near as busy as the other two are, I was in the middle of writing a song, and I don't want to lose the inspiration."

"Alright Cassie, I'll be seeing you soon."

_"Same here, be safe girl."_

"Okay, love you both, bye." With that her communicator died out from the conversation.

_"Well, at least I was able to tell half the team in a one shot. On the bright side, that means that Andros, and the others will be with the Lost Galaxy Rangers. Jason and I have had a bit of an interesting day so far—We've contacted several teams already and the calls have been pretty interesting." _

T.J didn't doubt that. He wasn't so far down the Ranger Totem pole himself, and publicly his own ranger status was only trumped by Andros, and then Zhane. Something about those damned sixth rangers incited the crowds to no end. Either way, he remembered the first time he'd gotten together with a couple of the originals. He'd been in awe over Tommy and Jason from the start, even though he'd succeeded Tommy, it was hard to look at a Ranger who had served under more colors than any other Ranger had—and that included the fact that T.J had gone through color shifts himself.

"Yeah, well, you guys are always so shocking. After all, it's not every day you meet a Yellow Ranger that can lowjack a Corvette. "

_"I knew we were special!"_ With a shared laugh at that, T.J looked out at the road ahead.

"So, you say you're looking for a private spot to have the event at?"

_"Yeah, we've had a couple of ideas and everything—we're going to decide on it sometime during the next week and get the word out to the rest of the Ranger teams."_

"Alright, are you guys going to need any cash from the Ranger funds to throw this thing? After all, things like this are kind of what the thing is there for."

_"Oh wow, I had completely forgotten about that. Is that okay?" _

"Come on Trini, you're one of the people that sit on the board to decide how the stuff is spent, it's not my money."

_"Right, it just feels weird sometimes knowing that all of that is there."_

"You're telling me, Toei and I just had a meeting last week—let's just say that whenever I get a chance to talk with Tommy, the Dino Thunder team isn't going to have to worry about anything for a long time."

_"Oh, that's awesome. From what Tommy tells me, they're really great kids, and it's awesome that we're able to support every Ranger through the basic needs of life by providing them with College funds, and keeping any Ranger out of debt."_

"It sucks that it's all we're able to do—all those Rangers have given so much to the legacy."

_"Agreed, although I am happy that we started to orchestrate giving out the funds by the specific team sales, that way all teams have an equal share of what their specific team brings in. By the way, out of random curiosity, which's uh, who's the best selling?"_

"…Tommy."

_"Son of a bitch! Why can't we have another April of 02? Is that too much to ask?"_

"Trini, I feel the same way—but it's almost nerve wrecking how well every ranger he's been sales. The Green and White ranger toys in particular. And the original team still brings in the most overall, since all the toys they make about you guys have become collectable items these days. Whenever they reissue something, it sells out quick."

_"Well, thanks for making it easy for us to get copies of some of that stuff—although Jason is kind of embarrassing with his slight obsession; owning every single version of the Red Ranger before the ape appeared." _

"Okay, well I've got to get going too Trini, I'm actually in the middle of nowhere so I could concentrate on this conversation."

_"No problem T.J, being seeing you and the others soon." _

"Alright, and let me know what you'll need from the Ranger Fund."

_"I'll be sure to." _With that T.J heard her disconnect, and just sat there for a moment. It was cool how much the rest of the Rangers trusted him. Initially, the Ranger fund had been created to help out with needs the different Rangers would run into—sometimes medical cost, or if they ended up being away due to Ranger business for extended periods of time, the Ranger fund would cover any bills they had. Also, no Ranger was in debt. At all, it was something the Ranger fund made sure of. However, although it was initially instituted to cover any Rangers, when the surplus of it had grown so massive that it became ridiculous, a committee had been formed and it had been decided that since the Ranger teams and individual Rangers couldn't splurge on themselves, unless they were P.I Rangers—and even those Rangers didn't do it, that they would reinvest most of the money to charities and to repairing the damaged property due to Zord and Monster damage. Although most cities with Rangers actually had insurance clauses that dealt with such things, the Rangers liked to do as much as possible for their respective cities. Angel Grove actually had a standing account with them.

So, a little get together of nothing but Rangers for three days huh? Well, that was going to be interesting. One of the main reasons was because he was sure Tommy hadn't seen either of those lovely girls that had broken his heart since it had happened. God, if only the all Rangers were P.I—this would be the most watched and dramatic reality T.V event EVER.

**Act I Pt III**

_Scene V_

Alyssa drove up to the animal shelter, her white mustang pulling in slowly, making sure not to make too much noise. It had been a few days since she had been by here, and her job as a kindergarten teacher had been keeping her busy. Honestly, she found it impressive she was able to find this place. It was almost a jungle on the outskirts of Turtle Cove. One of the reasons, although not the main one, that she loved to come here was due to the fact that this place almost reminded her of the beautiful Animarium that she had spent her days as a Ranger frequenting. The animals in this closed off sanctuary were free to roam as they would, any animal could be bright here, and they would be safe—Cole, the number one reason she loved to come here, would make sure of that.

After their stint as Rangers Cole had managed to get his degree in becoming a Veterinarian, which had impressed almost all of the other Wild Force Rangers. Cole had never set foot in a conventional school, and he'd grown up in a wild part of the world, so when he came out with a real deal degree to be a Vet, the shock almost knocked everyone down when they had found out about it. Of course, then it had been explained that Cole had gone to the former Red Rangers for advice about what he should do, and they had told him that since he'd gotten the finishing shot during the moon mission they'd recruited him for, and because he was still the rookie—whatever that meant, that he wouldn't have to worry about it. A few days later a degree and a professor swearing up and down that Cole was going to be the absolute best Veterinarian on the planet showed up to endorse him.

After working and traveling for a while, Cole had returned with the idea to open up an animal sanctuary. When he had come back, Alyssa had been ecstatic to see him, but was also kind of worried for him. The idea of Cole running a business, even if it was an animal sanctuary, was a little daunting. Again, he managed to impress her though—and another story about a trip to visit his fellow former Red Rangers had resulted in a good amount of land being bought, put in Cole's name, and then a man by the name of Randall Sullivan had shown up with a Masters of Business degree and told Cole that he had been told that he now worked keeping this shelter open and running smoothly. He also had a Minor in Law—which made Cole's dream very easy.

Alyssa had been happy to be there when Cole had opened up the "Wild Sanctuary"; she had been the only Wild Force Ranger that had been there. Danny and Max made a bit of a life out of their "Never Give Up" tour along with Kendall, who had surprisingly joined them. Even more shocking was the wedding photo that had come about three months later from Paris that showed that Danny and Kendall had ended up tying the knot. Alyssa had been so happy for them, but had been a little disappointed they hadn't been able to make it to Cole's opening. Merrick had been impossible to find, and Taylor had been somewhere with Eric—She had no way of contacting Princess Shayla either, and so that had left her being the only one. Cole hadn't minded in the least, but she had been a bit put out with the rest of the team.

Now as she was walking through it, she made sure to stay on the beaten path. One of the other major things that was impressive about 'Wild Sanctuary' was that it was completely free of human influence and interaction—Randall's office was the only thing in the sanctuary that wasn't something that had been grown or planted. Looking around, she let herself enjoy what she had termed 'Cole's World'. He was so kind and pure hearted, and the other Red Rangers apparently took him on to make sure that the kindness and sincerity he had stayed the way it was. Honestly, Alyssa would be forever grateful to them for everything they did for Cole. One of the reasons she loved to think about this as Cole's World was due to the fact that Cole spent almost all of his time here. Aside from making little trips into Turtle Cove every now and again, or she dragging him out of the place, Cole basically lived and slept within the confines of the Sanctuary.

When she had went about renewing their friendship after Cole had returned and opened up Wild Sanctuary, Cole had spent a lot of time telling her about his past before the Rangers, and the year he had spent gone. He'd had some amazing adventures after he had left the Rangers—going so far as to somehow make it to Africa and help root out some poachers there. Not to mention, he'd changed even more physically—definitely gaining in the muscle department along with growing out his hair to shoulder length; it gave him a very wild look. If she was being completely honest with herself, some of the thoughts she's had about Cole since he'd gotten back had caused her to end up blushing profusely more than once. One of the visits that she had made here that stuck out to her more than the countless others was the night she had accidentally ended spending here. She had come late after a particularly rough day with the kids and had needed to relax, by the time she had managed to find Cole, the stars had already been out, and he had been lying on the grass with a deer lying right beside him. He had been talking to the deer about his feelings about being back in this world, and about everything he hoped to be able to accomplish.

His dreams were so beautiful. She had walked up beside him, often the wild animals that roamed the sanctuary would bolt whenever someone other than Cole approached them, but due to Cole being there, the deer had no problem with Alyssa approaching. She had simply laid out right beside him, and he had just smiled and continued talking. The morning after, she had woken to discover that she had accidentally fallen asleep. Not only that, but she had also been hyper alert of the fact that Cole's arm had been wrapped around her when she had woken up—apparently they had somehow ended up spooning the entire night. Luckily it had been a Friday night, and she didn't need to rush off to the school. She had made an escape though; too embarrassed to try and face Cole that day…and that day had been a few days ago. Even though her classes had been keeping her busy, again, being honest with herself, it was the prospects of seeing Cole again after that.

"ALYSSA!" She jumped at the sound of her name being called, although at the same time butterflies started piling and having a mosh pit in her stomach. Turning to see Cole walking towards her, her eyes widened when she noticed that he wasn't alone. While Cole was almost running toward her, behind him Max, Merrick, and Danny were walking towards her. She couldn't help be smile brightly at them, and that's just about all she was able to do, since Cole had run up to her and wrapped her in a big hug. She almost melted right there against his rock har—ahem.

"You haven't been by in so many days; I thought your visits were at an end for awhile. When I woke up and you were gone I was so worried something had happened that I had asked almost every bird I could find if they had seen you, luckily one of them had seen you wake up and leave." By the time Cole finished talking, she was sure her face was the color of a tomato. Wiggling, regrettably, out of his Hug, Alyssa finally managed to catch her first true glimpse of her Wild Force team in forever. And right about now their expressions ranged from shock to super shocked.

"Is something wrong guys?" Cole's naiveté at what he had just blurted out caused the rest of the guys to start laughing, even Merrick!

"Nothing at all Cole." After Max had said that, they had all come forward, Danny and Max giving her a quick hug while she whispered, "It's not what you think" into their ears while trying to keep the slightly disappointed tones out of her voice. Merrick only shook her hand really quickly before sharing a smile with her. Although he had shared in the laugh, one look at Cole's face told Merrick all he needed to know, she was sure.

"SO! What brings the three of you back to Turtle Cove, and all at the same time? And I thought you were traveling with Zen-Aku Merrick."

"Well Alyssa, as for Max and myself—Kendall had to come back to take care of some things, so we decided it'd be nice to come check out Cole's Sanctuary. When we had gotten here, Merrick and Cole had already been here." Max nodded confirming what Danny had said, so she turned to Merrick for his answer.

"I just got back into town this morning, Willie wasn't home and so I decided that I would come to Cole's place. Zen-Aku and I parted ways in Japan—he said he'd found a sense of peace there in the countryside and decided to stay. The last I saw of him, he was being taught by the locals how to plant rice." It was a very short answer, but Merrick had never been a person for a lot of words.

"Isn't it great having all of them here?" The excitement in Cole's voice was unmistakable. Before Alyssa could answer back, a six toned chime sounded out of Cole's cell phone. The fact that he even had it on him was impressive. Although Cole had a cell phone, usually he left it where it always was—plugged up in the bed room he never used that was located in the back of Randall's office.

"You have your cell with you?"

"Yeah, Taylor called Randall this morning and told him that if he didn't make sure I had my phone on me at all times today, she would personally feed him to the lion that her and Eric are arranging for me to get!"Alyssa, Max, Danny, and Merrick could only share one small worried look. Only someone like Cole could be happy about getting a most likely wild Lion—if Eric and Taylor had anything to do with it. Their look was interrupted by the sound of Cole's phone ringing a moment later.

"Hello, this is Cole….Hello?" Smiling at his helplessness at how cell phones worked, she grabbed it from him and answered for him.

"Sorry about that, this is Alyssa Enrile speaking on behalf of Cole. Can I ask what this call is in regards to?" On the other end of the line, she heard a male voice laugh a little before answering,

_"Sure, but can I ask you something first?"_

"Sure, no problem."

_"Are there only rangers present?" _The look of shock that passed her face as that question came though the line alerted the others to something, but before they could react she answered,

"Yes…how do you know about that? Who are you?"

_"Do me a favor and put me on speaker, please?" _Complying with that, she gave a quick, "Okay, done." Before motioning for the others to gather around so they could hear the caller.

_"I see you're still green behind the ears a little rookie." _At the sound of the voice on the phone, Cole's face completely lit up.

"Jason! It's so good to hear from you!" The others all shared worried looks, thinking that Cole had spilled the beans to someone about their Ranger identities. Till now they'd only told close people, like Alyssa's father, and even Kendall finding out had been a bit of an accident. Alyssa decided it was time to jump back in.

"Sorry to interrupt this, but, who are you?" The slight look of shock that crossed Cole's face, as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet who he was talking to kind of got on her nerves a little.

_"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Jason Scott; I was Earths original Red Ranger." _Now it was everyone else's turn to be shocked. Even Merrick had a look of shock on his face, and he was over 3,000 years old!

"Earths original…As in Zordon of Eltar's chosen Red Ranger and Leader of the Angel Grove Ranger team?" Everyone turned to Merrick, the fact that he would even talk on a phone was impressive, and after all, he was the guy who used to come help them because he felt the wind blow! And what was all the rest of that about.

_"Yeah, that's me. I'm actually surprised that someone on your team knows that much about us."_

"My name is Merrick, I was the lunar wolf an—"

_"Oh, okay, nevermind. It makes sense now. Tommy told me about you. I guess Animus must have mentioned Zordon a few times to you then?"_

"More than a few, he often told us how he had based the Animarium off of the Wizard Zordon's home world of Eltar—he had even consulted with Zordon about everything that would eventually happen. I was sad to hear that Zordon had passed when I awoke." And that had to be the most that Alyssa had ever heard Merrick speak to a complete stranger. Who was Zordon?

_"Thank you for that." _A small moment of silence seemed to pass between Jason and Merrick over the phone, as if they were paying a silent homage to whoever this Zordon was.

"So what's up Jason? Why the call?" Cole's eager voice shone through as he waited with the looks of an excited…man why did he look like a dog wagging his tail right now?

_"Right, the reason for the call and all." _Taking a deep breath, as if he'd done this a few times, he continued talking through the line.

_"Two of our Rangers are moving back here after living in London for so long. Katherine Hilliard, and Kimberly Hart—Cole_ oddly enough responded pretty quickly with, "Is that the same one Tommy was always kissing on at the Juice Bar?" The innocent expression on his face was classic. Had COLE of all people just said that? And no sooner than he did than did Jason end up laughing, super hard, on the other end of the line. Soon enough, it died down, but chuckles still broke though.

_"Yeah, that would be the same one Cole. Anyways, the two of them are moving back, and we decided it would be a cool idea to gather not only our team, but every other team of rangers that carried on the legacy after us to get together with us for three days about a month from now. We haven't picked out a location yet, but we the original Rangers of earth, would love to extend the invitation to the Wild Force Rangers, so that we can celebrate everything that our mentor Zordon has accomplished—both in his life, and by his legacy." _

They all looked at each other for only a moment before, nodding very quickly all at once before Cole managed to get out,

"Oh wow! It would be an honor for all of the Wild Force Rangers to go! I can't imagine what it will be like being in the company of such selfless and compassionate individuals." One of the sweet, but sometimes weird about Cole was whenever he said cheesy things like that. Merrick actually winced at that sentence, along with Max and Danny.

_"Awesome, well, we'll be getting in contact with you soon rookie. Have a nice day, and may the power protect you." _

"And you as well Jason." Hanging the phone, Cole turned to them and smiled brightly.

"WE GET TO MEET THE ZORDON'S CHOSEN!" The completely, and utterly uncharacteristic outburst from Merrick caused everyone to look at him.

"Who's Zordon?" And with Cole's question, Merrick unloaded the history of the Power to Cole and the others around him.

**Act I Pt III**

_Scene VI_

Mirinoi was such a beautiful planet. It reminded him of the unpopulated parts of KO-35 at times. It was nice to be reminded that planets like Earth, KO-35, and Mirinoi existed and that the Universe wasn't just filled with garbage like Onyx. He was happy Karone had wanted to come here to visit Kendrix and her fellow Lost Galaxy Rangers. Honestly, constantly being on watch for trouble between KO-35t and Earth could get tiring at times. Not to mention that the hand that was wrapped in his at the moment felt so at peace here. Andros turned to Ashley as she smiled, looking over all of the advances that the people of the Terra Venture exposition had made on Mirinoi. They had managed to integrate themselves to Mirinoi instead of dominate the planet the way their others had on Earth. Andros knew that Ashley felt more at peace here than almost anywhere. He was always happy when he brought her here.

The crisp morning air of Mirinoi was amazing to breathe in. There wasn't a hint of pollution on Mirinoi, something that even KO-35 could claim, even with their advancements in technology. There was something to be said about a pure planet.

"It's so beautiful here Andros. I could literally lose myself for days here and never feel it." Ashley broke the quiet as she spoke. He didn't mind.

"I know what you mean, although KO-35 and the Astro Megaship are my home, I honestly have always loved Mirinoi, ever since the first time we came here." Ashley nodded at that. He was happy. She was happy. These days, that's all that really mattered to him. They had had a bit of a whirlwind romance that had led them to this point, often times the cultural barrier in between the two of them had strained their relationship, not to mention the fact that up until just after the moon mission, Andros had almost lost her to some other guy. That was something he would never have been able to forgive himself for. It was nice being here with her now though. All that stuff was behind them. Being here allowed them to completely unwind.

"Is Karone enjoying the visit?"

"From what I've seen of her, she's ecstatic to be back here. It's pretty impressive the relationship that she and Kendrix managed to develop. I was actually surprised she had decided to come back with us a couple of years ago."

"Well, as much as I'm sure she loved being here, the two of you still had a lot to catch up on—plus, I think she really had been starting to miss Zhane, the temporary visits probably weren't enough." A slight look of annoyance crossed Andros face at that. Ashley laughed at the joke she had with Karone about Andros being an over protective brother. Try as he might, the thought of his sister dating Zhane—of her doing ANYTHING with Zhane nagged him. Although Zhane was his best friend, it was exactly because he knew Zhane so well that he still couldn't fully stand behind that relationship. He had tried dating her while she was Astronema! How much more reckless could a guy get?

"It was incredibly romantic of Zhane though." He smiled as Ashley stole a small peek into his mind. Over the years she had honed and formed her telekinetic and psychic abilities to a razor sharp edge. These days she was almost as good as any full bred resident of KO-35.

"Even still Ash—" She cut him off with a kiss to his lips, passionate and sometimes to the point—traits she had picked up from Cassie. "Andros, if you don't mind, the relationship between your sister and Zhane really isn't what I want this trip to center on." With a slight smile, she turned around and began heading back the way they had come.

Turning to follow, the familiar six chimed note of his communicator rang out. Instantly, he answered.

"This is Andros, go ahead."

_"Hey Andros, this is Jason—I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time or anything. I don't really know what Mirinoi's time zones in comparison to Earth's time zones are."_

They were actually comparative in a lot of ways since Mirinoi, KO-35, and Earth all rotated at near similar orbits around their planets.

"No, it's fine I was just out for a walk anyways. What's up?"

_"Ah cool. Well, as mundane as this is probably going to seem to you; Kat and Kim are moving back to California. We figured that since two of our own are going to come back and most of the old team is going to be in the general area that we wanted to all get together—but then we remembered that Tommy had the new Dino Thunder team, and decided that not only did we want to meet them, but that we'd also like to meet every other Ranger team that came after us. So, about a month from now we're planning a three day event for every Ranger that is willing to come to attend. So far we have the approval of every team but the rest of Space, Lost Galaxy, and I'm on my way right now to go see the Dino Thunder Rangers personally."_

Walking up on the other Rangers of Mirinoi, who were finally out and about—they had gotten together the night before to welcome Karone and the rest of the Space Rangers who had come to visit, he said into his communicator,

"Yeah, that sounds like it'd be fantastic, as for the Space Rangers it would be great to see everyone again. You can count all of us in." Motioning towards Leo, he walked over, away from Kendrix and Karone. "But why don't you ask Leo yourself, he's right here."

_"Oh, awesome. This made it so convenient, you guys being there."_

Leo had finally reached Andros and he handed off his communicator to him.

"Alright, the floor is yours."

The questioning look that Leo had on his face died the moment Jason's voice came through the communicator.

_"Leo, it's been awhile."_

"Jason! It's good to hear from you!" At the sound of the name of the original Red Ranger and leader, every other Ranger currently there gathered around to where Leo was to hear what Jason was saying.

_"The same to you. Anyways, the reason I'm calling is because two of own, Kimberly Hart and Katherine Hilliard are—and I know this sounds menial compared to you guys, moving back to California from London after being gone since they left. We were thinking it'd be cool to all get together after so long, and we decided that it'd be amazing to attempt to get not only our team, but every ranger team that we know of together as well. So far your team, and the Dino Thunder Team are the only two teams that we haven't reached out to yet—well, aside from the Rangers from Aquitar. Anyways, we thought it'd be great to gather everyone in celebration of Zordon, what he did in his life, and the Legacy he left behind. What do you think?"_

By the time Jason had finished talking, everyone around looked extremely excited. Obviously the general answer was seen on each of their faces.

"That's sounds like a fantastic idea! And judging by the faces of everyone here, I'd say that we're all pretty much in agreement that we'll all be there—that is if Andros doesn't mind giving us a ride."

The rest of the group gave a little laugh at the idea of Andros ever saying no.

_"Okay, awesome. I gave Andros the details, we haven't settled on a place yet, but we know it's going to be about a month from now—so if all things work out, we should be all meeting each other here pretty soon. I look forward to meeting your team."_

"And we're all looking forward to meeting yours."

_"Alright, well I've got to get going—I'm almost in Reefside and I have to mentally prepare to meet the team that Tommy created…and I haven't decided if I'm going to tell him that Kat and Kim are moving back just yet. Anyways, it was great talking to you guys, and May the Power Protect You." _The line died and the communication was over. From what Andros could tell, there was a bit of an excited air to the entire gathering.

"We're going to get to meet the original team?" Karone's voice was excited. She loved meeting new Rangers.

"Did I hear the names Katherine Hilliard and Kimberly Hart! Weren't they the first two Pinks?!" Kendrix and Karone couldn't stop smiling at each other. They really did share a special bond, and most likely the only two pink rangers that could understand the full depth of that were Kimberly Hart and Katherine Hilliard. Karone and Kendrix would love the original and her successor, Andros was sure. He'd never met them, but from what he'd hear about them from Jason, they were two amazing women.

"So I guess if we leave now and cruise, we should be getting to earth in about a month right?" Zhane's comment about cruising through the universe got eye rolls from every one there.

"That calculation is about right though. We should reach Earth in about a month if we leave tomorrow, or the day after." After Andros spoke up, everyone looked around at each other.

"I've got to go pack." And with that, everyone split up, not before Karone, Kendrix, and Ashley all grabbed Maya and took off towards the city proper with her.

"Hey, what's going on!"

"She can't go to a Ranger get together looking like this! But out Kai!" After that sharp statement from Kendrix, Kai kept his mouth shut. Although the pleading look from Maya told him to do otherwise, the idea of taking on three rangers, and two of them pinks, did not look too good for him. Andros could only smile. This was going to be an interesting month long trip…did he still have that hidden compartment on the megaship?

**Act 1 Pt III**

_Scene VII_

They Cyberspace Café was in full swing at the moment, and Haley could barely keep up with all the customers moving in and out. It was already after hours for the school, and so every student that could possibly fit into her café was in it. Ever since Mesagog had been defeated, the citizens didn't really think twice anymore about going out, and so in the after months of most people staying in doors to escape the possibility of getting caught in the crossfire between him in the Rangers, it seemed they were all in a rush to catch up on what they had missed. Haley's place had become the epicenter of the youth scene here in Reefside apparently, and Tommy had commented multiple times on how it was starting to remind him of the Youth Center and Juice bar back in Angel Grove. It made her smile when she thought about that. She was happy she could bring up some memories of his past without attaching them to one of the two women that had completely stomped his heart into the ground.

"Hey you new guy, make sure that table 7 has its refills!" Haley wanted to wince at the fact that she hadn't memorized the names of the full staff she now had to employ due to the traffic her café got. Luckily though, most of them were good kids who understood that it would take time for her to learn all of that stuff. Looking around and making sure that everything was in order, she spotted her new manager, and walked up to him.

"Trent, I think we may have to make the place bigger—we're going to start breaching the fire safety codes soon—and the last thing I want to do is send people away at the door." The usually quiet and mild mannered former White Ranger spared a momentary look of slight frustration with her. Recently any major problems that the café was having would go through Trent before her, and she loved reminding him that that's what the raise in pay was for. There was actually no need for Trent to work, at all, but along with that quiet nature came a very solid sense of pride—he was very much like Tommy in that aspect. Which made her smile back at the agitated look he was giving her. Although he would never complain, she knew he sometimes wanted to. Although behind the look of agitation was also one of pride.

Aside from the fact that business had been booming lately, one of the reasons the Café was only getting more and more packed was due to the fact that Kira would be performing today. She had recently become very popular with the local crowd, and today was scheduled as one of her first major concerts—it was also the first time Haley had ever charged a door fee to be in the café after the normal 3:30-5 crowds had gotten out. Everyone here had come to see Kira, and both Haley and Trent wanted the show to go flawless—of course, one of the guests Kira was looking forward to seeing the most was, as usual, LATE! When she got her hands on Tommy…

Conner and Ethan were already seated in front of the stage, they had both offered to help her around the Café, and as sweet as the offer had been the last thing she wanted was either of them screwing up—which unfortunately would have been the most likely eventuality of Conner and Ethan on any other team than the one that required them to wear power suits for protection. They were brilliant Rangers, but as for the day to day running of her Café…She would stick with Trent.

"This place is slammed…and when did you start charging an admission fee!?" Turning around in shock at the voice she heard, she almost took down three teenagers as she ran and threw her arms around Jason. He was smiling and holding out both his arms by the time she had gotten there. In his usual red t-shirt and blue jeans, he looked like he'd been about the usual today—but it was a complete shock to see him here today.

"Jason! It's been forever since you've been in Reefside, what up?!" They both had to talk a bit louder than usual, and when she managed to get a good look at his face, the obvious, 'we can't talk here' look was on. Signaling for him to wait a moment, Haley ran moved back over to Trent, who was looking at her with a look of confusion on his face.

"Trent, I'm going to need you to take over running the place for a little, a very important individual just showed up and I need to talk to him."

"Haley! We're slammed, and one of the new kids we hired called in ear—"

"I'm sorry Trent, but the colors have just shifted and I need to take care of this."

After the words colors and shifted had been used in the same sentence he stopped talking and nodded his head. It was their personal message between each other that it had to do with Ranger business. Sneaking a look past her to Jason, his eyes widened to a massive degree. He had been shown the video of the Legacy that been entrusted to them not too long ago, so most likely the image of the first Red Ranger of Earth was fresher to him than the others. Looking back at Haley, he gestured towards him as if to ask if he was seeing correct, and Haley nodded her head. After that she walked back over to Jason and led him back to her office—which she had sound proofed. Score one for team girl genius.

No sooner than she had gotten in her office, she turned and gave Jason another hug. It really had been a long time.

"So, what brings the original Red Ranger to our humble abode here in Reefside!" She was smiling brightly, and so was he. They had become great mutual friends through Tommy. Their friendship had become even stronger. Haley was also the only one that she knew of that knew about the little side thing Trini and Jason currently had going on, since they had accidentally been caught the last time she had gone to see Trini for some advice about the Rangers.

"Actually, I'm here to see the new kids."

"Wait, you're here to see Conner, Ethan, Trent, and Kira?"

"Yeah." Well, that was surprising. The other Rangers that she knew outside of the Dino Thunder team had at one point expressed some interest or another in meeting what they termed, "Tommy's Team", but none of them had made it such a big deal as to travel to Reefside just to meet with them.

"Any reason in particular?"

"Oh yeah, there's a pretty big reason. Is it possible to get them all in here though? I've said this so many times today that I'd rather not have to repeat it anymore." The slightly comical look on his face told a story all on its own. Without any more questions she gave him a quick, "Sure, be one sec." Racing out of the room, she found and grabbed Trent. Getting close enough she whispered to where only he could hear,

"Get the others of the team and meet me in my office. Tell Kira it's an emergency, and tell Casey that he's in charge until we're done." Without another word, Trent nodded and went off to do as he had been told. With current company present, he wouldn't question anything. Walking back to her office, she found Jason staring at a picture of the entire assembled Dino Thunder team, out of uniform of course.

"You know, to someone who knows the secret, it's painfully obvious to anyone who knows even half of what to look for who the Power Rangers are." Turning back around with a smile on his face, she couldn't help but share a smile with him. She had figured out all of their identities by profiling them through the pictures of Tommy's school yearbooks and personal home photo's. Although the friends had shifted in some pictures, the colors they were all wearing stayed the same—except for Tommy.

"Yeah, I honestly don't see how any team has managed to stay S.I this entire time."

"Well, I'm just happy that we have. Luckily only former Rangers or close associates know about the color scheme." Sharing a laugh with one another, the door opened and in walked the younger members of the Dino Thunder team. They all filed in, one after the other; Conner leading the group in, followed by Ethan, Kira, and finally Trent.

"Hey Haley, what's up?" Conner said as he walked in, his drink still in his hand. Moving forward, she quickly took that from him and sat it down on her desk. Apparently Trent was the only one who recognized Jason on sight, which she was thankful for—she really didn't need a banana and chocolate raspberry surprise smoothie falling on her office floor. She also had no idea how any of the kids could actually drink that. She'd made it by complete accident one day while not paying attention to what she was doing—oddly enough it had become a hit.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Jason Scott." She said as she gestured to Jason, who was standing near her desk, still holding the picture of the full team in one hand. Setting it down, he gave his full attention to the Dino Thunder team.

"Jason Scot, why does that name…" Ethan's eyes widened in tandem with the others and then the torrent was unleashed, coming from Conner.

"Dude, you're the original RED RANGER! Oh man, it's such an honor to meet you!" unconsciously they all stood up straighter and started fiddling with their clothes a little, all but Conner who had jumped forward and held out his hand, which Jason took and shook.

"I'm Conner McKnight, Dino Thunder Red."

"It's nice to meet you Conner." The others in turn shifted up to shake his hand, introducing themselves, each telling him their name and color, never guessing that it was easy for Jason to tell. But He let them introduce themselves as they wanted, Trent going last got a bit of an exchange.

"I'm Trent Fernandez, I was the White Ranger."

"Yeah, Tommy's told me a lot about you. From what I've heard, the two of you are similar in a lot of ways. It's nice to finally get a chance to meet you." The others all understood what Jason meant. They knew they were in the presence of the Ranger who had been the one to free Tommy from Rita's evil spell. As much as Conner looked up to Jason, she knew that Trent looked up to him a bit more—the thought that Jason had tried to save Tommy instead of killing him had been one of the things that he had discussed with Haley a few times. It had always stuck with him that Jason had thought of saving Tommy instead of killing him to protect his fellow Rangers.

"So…can we ask why you're here Mr. Scott?"

"You can call me Jason, Kira. Honestly, I think Tommy is going to be the only Ranger you're going to address by their last name."

"Okay Jason." The kids were beaming. They were completely desensitized to Tommy, who would normally be the life of any Ranger Party he would be at, so it was cool to see that they were able to truly be impressed by people still.

"Anyways, the reason I'm here is because I wanted to come and personally invite you all to an event that the Original Rangers of Earth are putting on. I've already called all of the other Ranger teams both here on Earth, and the Space Rangers—who just so happened to be with the Lost Galaxy Rangers. They've all agreed to come, and so I would like to formally invite the Dino Thunder Rangers of Reefside to attend the first Ranger Reunion that's going to consist of every person that has worn the colors of the Rangers. It's going to be held a month from now, we haven't figured out a location yet, but you'll be one of the first teams to know everything as it's basically happening since I'm also here to recruit Haley for organizing." At that a slight look passed between Jason and Haley. "Uhh, it was my idea, but Trini doesn't trust me to…."

"Oh, I understand. AND I AM SO DOWN! This sounds like it's going to be awesome!" It occurred to both Jason that none of the teens had spoken up and they turned to look over at them. They were starring shocked at Jason.

"Are you guys okay?" They all nodded before looking at each other and smiles and whoops for joy started coming out of them, even Trent, which was impressive—to say the least.

"Oh! This sounds so awesome, do you think Cam and the rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers are going to be there?" That from Ethan.

"Yeah, I talked with Sensei Watanabe earlier and he said that both the Wind and Thunder Ninja Rangers would be in attendance. We plan on it being a three day event, so if you could get your schedules cleared up, it'd be nice to have you guys there."

"We are so down!" Conner said before Trent blurted out,

"But what about Dr. O?"

At this Jason's smiled turned into the evilest smirk she had ever seen him make.

"Can you guys do me a small favor?" They all nodded their heads in rapid fashion while Haley slowly nodded hers.

"Tommy's going to be getting a special invitation, Mr. Multicolors and all that. We want each of the Original Rangers to get something special from all of us." As he kept on speaking, realization dawned on Haley about what, 'Each of the Original Rangers', meant and a sudden jolt of ice flowed through her body. She managed to plaster a smile to her face as the kids agreed. Before anymore conversation oculd be had, she spoke up.

"Hey guys, it's almost time for Kira to go onstage. Conner, Ethan, the two of you should probably go take you seats, while you Kira need to get back stage. Can you check on the place for me Trent?" They all nodded, and after assurances to Jason that they would keep it a secret from Tommy they said goodbye and walked out of her office and back to the small party that was going on.

Turning on Jason, the smile completely wiped from her face, she started in on him. "Do you want to tell me what this is all about now, or am I going to have to grill it out of you and Trini!"

Jason winced as Haley turned on him. He'd hoped he would be able to keep this from her, but by the look on her face, there wasn't going to be a chance to. "Listen Haley, I know what I'm,"

"No Jason, I didn't have time to think about it when you had initially said it, but after the words Original Rangers popped into my head, I knew. Not to brag, but it doesn't take a genius IQ to figure out where this is all coming from. Is this some kind of ruse to set Tommy back up with Kimberly?" She was near fuming. No, she was beyond near fuming. It looked like she was ready to blow her top off. This was probably going to throw her over the edge. In the hopes of shocking her to the point of her not being able to completely lose her temper—something about red heads a fiery tempers, Jason blurted everything out at once.

"Kat and Kim are moving to Reefside to both try and get Tommy back at the same time. In order to soften the blow for Tommy, I'm arranging for this to happen around a bunch of other Rangers so that everyone can at least be in a good moo—"

And no dice, by the middle of the second sentence her face had already been as red as her hair.

"ARE YOU AND TRINI INSANE? WHAT IN THE HELL DO THE TWO OF YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK HIM TO GET OVER THE BOTH OF THEM? HOW BAD HE WAS HURT BY WHAT KAT DID, NOT TOO MENTION THE FACT THAT IT TOOK KAT TO HELP HIM GET OVER KIM! HE STILL HASN'T REALLY GOTTEN OVER EITHER OF THEM AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO LET THEM USE HIM AS A PRIZE IN A GAME OF TUG OF WAR IN THEIR LITTLE PINK EGO WORLD!" She was breathless by the end of it. Making sure it was cool for him to speak first, and seeing how she was still seething a bit, he grabbed her by the hand and drew her into a hug. She really was an amazing woman, and he knew that she was just worried for her friend.

"Do you honestly think that I would let Kat or Kim, regardless of who or what they were to Tommy, play a game like that?" She was hesitant to his touch at first but finally ended up hugging him, burying her face in his chest. Sucking in her breath and whispering tentatively into his shirt, she spoke,

"Jason, you weren't there when he found out Kat had dropped him. He showed up at our apartment, dead drunk already and all he could say was, 'She's just like Kimberly.' I knew he had been going through hell, and his eyes might as well have both been punched in. It took the entire night to get the bottle out of his hands. It wasn't until about two days later that I had managed to call you, and by then he'd just moved on to the enraged point you saw him at. But before that Jason, he was so hurt that she had done that to him." He could feel the tears against his shirt. He knew Haley loved Tommy, she wasn't in love with him, but that didn't matter. She loved him just as much, and even more than some. Whatever hurt Tommy hurt her in the most literal since. And she was right; Tommy hadn't gone to him, or to any of the others when he had been in the pure hurt stage of the break up. With Kim he had gone turned to Kat—and everyone had seen how a rebound relationship with Kat had worked out. After Kat, he had turned to Haley, someone who he had been completely safe with, and she hadn't left to this day; even if she was only there for him as a friend.

Before Jason could speak up again, Haley snuffled a bit in his shirt and pulled back enough to look up at him.

"I'll go along with this. Because I trust you and Trini, I'll sit back and go along with this." He smiled at her, happy that she knew and trusted them enough to let their judgment…

"But I'm warning you Jason, even it even looks like either of those two are going to hurt him I'm going to protect Tommy in the only way I know how to at this point." Taking in a deep breath she let it out while Jason watched her.

"Up till now Tommy has always been the best friend I've ever had. I love him more than anything else on the planet, but I've never been in love with him. I'm best at giving people what they need, I'll admit it. I love the feeling of being needed, which is probably why the friendship with Tommy has gone so well, there has never been a time when he hasn't needed me. Katherine and Kimberly may be great girls, but their track record with me has already been burned up, even if I have never met them. If they hurt him again, especially doing something as stupid and reckless as what you're about to let them attempt, I'll safeguard Tommy by giving him the only thing I've ever denied him—I love him but I've never allowed myself to fall in love with him. I will, this time."

While staring into her eyes, Jason knew she was telling the truth. She loved Tommy enough that she would let herself fall into a relationship with him. He knew it wouldn't be something she would do out of convenience either—if she fell for Tommy it would be the real deal, and he had no doubt that Tommy could learn to love and be happy with Haley. He knew that Haley already knew that Tommy was broken, she understood him better than even he did at times. She was willing to take him as he was, with no thoughts to herself. The thought that she could do something like that only caused Jason to love Haley more. Honestly, if not for Trini, he probably would have been head over heels for the woman in his arms right now.

"Deal." He wasn't saying it just to concede to her, but also to cover himself as well. She was right; this was impulsive and stupid—reckless in the extreme sense of the word. If it didn't work out and only ended up hurting Tommy, then he would need something to fall back on, and unfortunately Jason wouldn't be able to give Tommy what he would need.

"One more thing," Haley said as she let go of Jason and walked to the door. Looking over at her, he watched her face. She was still in dead serious mode. "I want to meet them when they get here…before they start in on Tommy. If they don't agree to it, they can kiss any chance of me letting them get near him gone—I'll find some way to make each and every attempt not work out, and believe me—where Tommy is concerned I know just the buttons to push." With that she walked out of her office, almost slamming the door on him. She was still upset and he could understand that.

Jason brought his hand to press through his hair, letting out a deep sigh. Now it was four hearts on the line in this entire fiasco. Getting to the door, he left out the back way, going to his car and getting in. Dialing in Trini on his cell, she answered almost immediately.

_"How did she take it."_

"Pretty much how you thought she would. She wants Kat and Kim to meet with her before they start in on trying to get Tommy back, I don't know what she wants to talk about with them, but she's pretty adamant about the entire thing."

_"I thought she would request something like that. Well, don't worry. I'll talk to her about it when I go down there next week. T.J and I are going to have to meet up with her anyways." _

"Right, the Dino Thunders Ranger Fund." He'd almost forgotten about that. "What about Zack and the rest of the crew, when do we start hunting them down?"

_"I'm going to get all of that done tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, I just talked to Kat and Kim again. They were able to move their ETA up."_

"Oh? By how much?"

_"They'll be here at the end of the week."_

"Son of a bitch."

_"We have a lot of work to do." _

"Well, it's a good thing we both own our own businesses. We're probably going to have to take the rest of the month off."

_"I wouldn't be surprised if that happens."_

"Okay, well I'll see you when I get back."

_"Love you."_

"You too."

With that Jason jumped on the highway back to Angel Grove. He really hoped those kids were able to keep their mouths shut. More than that though, he hoped that Haley wouldn't be too harsh on Kat and Kim. This had been one interesting Friday.

* * *

Hey everyone! I'm sorry that I missed my Sunday deadline, but some things came up. Hopefully a chapter that's literally longer than the entire story so far makes up for it. The next chapter should be out soon. This one is hot of the press, so forgive any mistakes, I hope you enjoy it. I tried to be as accurate with each set of Rangers as possible, going so far as to Study the Rangers Teams in depth that I didn't know. Hopefully you all enjoy it. Please let me know what you think in some reviews.

Divinitas Intereo


	5. Act I Pt IV

Act I Pt. IV

Zack stepped out of the car, looking at the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy. Jason had really gone all out on the design, sparing no expense on making it look like the most ideal martial arts academy that existed in Angel Grove. The only one to rival Jason's studio was the one that Adam and Rocky had had built on the other side of town, right in between the border between Stone Canyon and Angel Grove. Their academies survived off of a very healthy rivalry that Jason kept with the other two Rangers. Whenever they had their tournaments, Zack would be sure to show up to them. It was great seeing the kids of the younger generation so involved and passionate about the sport—not to mention that Jason, Rocky, and Adam played the perfect parts of archrival Sensei's. The entire town knew it was all in good fun, but some of the three way exposition matches that they would put on for the show of their academies were pretty fierce. Jason wasn't one to pull punches, and Rocky, along with Adam knew how to dish it out as well.

Walking over to the front door, he let himself in. Jason had said that the door would be unlocked. Walking to the side of the studio and up the stairs that led to the apartment Jason had built on top of the Studio, Zack knocked on the door. He'd noticed Trini was already here, but if his suspicions were right, she'd been hanging with Jason way more than the two of them were letting on. With a smile on his lips, he opened his arms as soon as the door opened and one of his oldest friends flew into his arms. He hugged her tightly. It was often that he got the chance to make it back to Angel Grove.

"Zack, it's so good to see you!" She gripped in tight.

"Same to you girl, I really need to come around more."

"Yeah, you really do, you missed one of the all city competitions between the other Red and Black rangers school and my own." Smiling as he saw Jason, he clapped their hands together, wrapping him in a one armed hug, with Trini still in between them. Although they were connected by the Rangers, and by having grown up together—it was this small circle of his friends that Zack felt the closest to. Sure, he loved Kim, Billi, and Tommy; these two had been the ones he had traveled the world with promoting world peace though. There was something to be said about being able to remember home and his days as a Ranger whenever they weren't even out of high school, but they had been involved in conferences that involved the state and affairs of the world.

"I'm sorry about that man; it's been hard to get away from the big city lately. Who won this time?"

Letting go of each other, and finally stepping into the apartment, Zack promptly took his seat in the single while Jason and Trini sat on the L couch that Jason had. He noted that they didn't bother putting any space in between them. Huh, maybe they were beyond hiding it. Or that had accidentally outted themselves to one of the other team members and were going to have it spilled to everyone and so they were just going with it. He wondered which it was.

"Adam has this new student he's been working with. Brilliant Kid—he and James ended up in the finals, he won 7 to 4. He's really, really dedicated. Rick's been seething for another chance at him." With a nod in agreement, Zack got comfortable and decided to address the obvious. Motioning between the two of them,

"So, I guess the two of you aren't trying to hide this anymore." With a slight blush on Trini's side, and a little cough on Jason's, Zack could only laugh.

"Seriously guys, after everything we went through with one another, you think I wouldn't notice when two of my best friends hooked up with each other? Come on, you gotta give the Zack man some credit!"

"Well excuse us Mr. Player!" The playful tone that Trini accused him with always brought a bit of a smile to his face. Getting up he walked over to Jason's fridge and pulled out a drink for himself. The selection wasn't as limited as it used to be back when they were kids, and he was happy Jason had remembered he was a Corona type of man. Popping of the top without using a bottle opened, Zack sat back down. Jason had once begged him to teach him that trick, but he couldn't give away all of his tricks. After all, his charity had been expended on Tommy—honestly how the guy could be so dedicated to something impressed Zack to no end.

"You're still a jerk for never teaching me how to do that Zack."

"Sorry buddy, take it up with your man Tommy."

The look of confusion that passed on their faces made Zack want to laugh.

"So when are the others getting here? I thought I was late actually."

"The rest of the guys should be get—" The knock on the door interrupted her. Motioning for them to stay seated, Zack got up and walked to the door. Opening it, Rocky, Aisha, Adam, and Tanya walked in.

"Hey ZACK ATTACK How's it going!"

"Aw come on Rocko, when are you going to let that go!" The rest of them shared a laugh while Aisha gave him a hug.

"Dang girl, when you going to let the Zack man take you out for drinks?"

With a little laugh and a playful hit on his shoulder Aisha walked passed him. "Boy, you crazy. You ain't ready for the mama bear yet."

"She's really right Zack, I'd had to find you mauled and on the side of the road." Smiling at Adam, Zack one arm hugged Adam the same way he'd hugged Jason. He and his successor had a common bond that anyone that had shared colors with someone else would understand. Looking over as Jason was slapping Rocky on the back, he smiled. It was always good to see the crew together. Turning around, he took Tanya's hand a kissed it. "And what about you baby girl? How've you been?" She smiled at Zach then gestured looked at Trini and Aisha.

"Players crazy, isn't he?"

"Girl, you know all the Ranger boys want the yellows."

"Yeah, Kat and Kim may think they're the belle's of the ball, but we know it's all about the Yellow's my lovelies!" The three Yellow's in the room shared a laugh as Zack closed the door. Getting back over to where he'd been settled at, he motioned to his lap for any of the girls, and they all just laughed. Although he'd been a bit of a player and overly hyped in his youth, as he had gotten older, he'd calmed down a bit.

"So what's up Trini and Jase? Why'd you guys call us over here?" Everyone turned to Adam. He was always one to get straight to the point. Zach had always thought that maybe Rocky should have taken the black and Adam the Red—he did have more of a leadership aura around him than anything else.

"Well guys, yesterday Jason and I got a call at 3:45 in the morning from Kat and Kim,"

"Wait, what were you and Jason doing together?" The entire room stared at Rocky as if he had missed the obvious statement that had been made. "Oh, right, go one."

"Anyways, we got a call from Kat and Kim yesterday letting us know that they were going to be moving back here." At that, shouts of, "Yeah!" and "Awesome!" went through the room. Zack himself was pretty pleased, he hadn't seen his sister—as he thought of Kimberly, in forever. It'd been way too long since she moved to Florida he'd only seen her in the flesh about 9 times. Way too little. He was ecstatic actually.

"Why are they coming back?" Aisha was already overly excited. She and Kim had formed a very close bond whenever Kim had moved in with her.

"Well, this is actually why we've gotten all of you guys together. Before we start into this, we're going to need all of you to have a completely open mind about this entire affair. Outside of this group, and Kat & Kim, no one knows the reason behind this entire event." Interrupting Jason, Adam asked, "What event?"

Taking a deep breath, Jason jumped right into it:

"Yesterday Trini and I spent the entire day—literally the entire day tracking down and getting in touch with every single team of Rangers from us to Tommy's new team in Reefside. Since Kat and Kim are coming back, I thought it would be a good idea to have the first every Rangers Reunion—with every Ranger that has ever been active from Earth."

Zack smiled.

"That sounds AWESOME Jason! Have they all agreed?" Rocky was enthusiastic.

"Yeah, from what I can tell, every Ranger team is down—and to be honest they seem kind of…"

"Star struck. While Jason and I were calling them, they were acting kind of funny. At first we had no idea what was going on until we'd had a little time to think about it. It hadn't occurred to us that we'd be this big a topic for some of the teams that came after us. After all, while we were kids when we took on the mantle, most of these other Rangers were already adults by the time they became Rangers."

The others all shared a laugh at that. It wasn't that any of them downplayed any of the other Ranger teams statuses, but Zack could understand how the team they had would be looked up to a bit more than any of the others. After all, they had been the first team assembled; the first team called by Zordon.

"So, basically what you're saying is be prepared to be stuttered to and stuff?" Everyone turned to look at Rocky.

"What?"

"ANYWAYS, all the teams have said yes and we're still deciding on a place to hold this. You guys are down right?" Obviously they all shook their heads. Although something was bothering Zack.

"Jason we're going to have to get Tommy a personal assistant or something man, the dude suffers from Chronic LATE." The others shared in the laugh, until they noticed that Jason and Trini weren't laughing.

"Actually guys, Tommy wasn't invited to this meeting. If everything's worked out the way it was supposed to, then Tommy doesn't even know this meeting is going down right now." Everyone looked a Jason a bit confused for a second.

"Why doesn't Tommy know we're meeting?" Adam looked around the others, a slight look of concern on his face. Always the perceptive one, Adam.

"Well, remember how Jason and I told you that you guys are going to have to be very open minded about this entire thing and that outside of Kat and Kim only the people in this room are going to know one of the main reasons behind this Ranger Reunion?" They all nodded their heads, and Zack thought Jason looked a little nervous. What could possibly have Jason nervous?

"Well, it's like this guys, the reason Kat and Kim are moving back—the only reason that they're both moving back at the same time is that the two of them have decided to attempt another shot at Tommy…at the same time."

Complete silence reigned in the room.

"THAT LUCKY SON OF A BITCH!" The outburst from Zack caused everyone but Trini and Jason to start laughing. Watching as Trini and Zack turned their heads to look at each other a chill went down Zack's spine.

"Wait, are you serious!?" Everyone sobered up quickly when Jason nodded his head yes.

"Um, how slammed were Kat and Kim when they came up with this idea? Cause it doesn't sound like something either of them would do."

"Speak for yourself Adam, this is exactly the kind of thing those two girls would do." Tanya nodded at Aisha in agreement.

"But isn't that going to be weird? I mean, I can see one of them going after Tommy, I always thought it was going to happen anyways, but I would have never thought it would be both of them at the same time." Adam nodded in agreement with Rocky.

"Yo, all I've got to say is this is some seriously kinky stuff. I mean, none of us are in high school anymore, not to mention that these are both the girls that broke Tommy's heart to shards. Is this really a good idea?" He loved Kim and Kat, but was it a good idea? Zack wasn't so sure.

"Welcome to my world Zack, I wasn't so sure about this in the beginning either, but Kat and Kim say they can handle it—and in the end I think it'll end up being what's best for Tommy. If we don't stop him, Tommy's going to end up the first senior citizen ranger." As that laugh was shared all around the group Jason sat up. "Look guys, it sounds funny, but think about it. Tommy has been a ranger longer than any of us, and he's been attached to the Rangers far more than any of us have been, and he's basically dedicated his life to the Rangers. I know he's not an active Ranger at the moment, but look how easy it was for him to pick it back up for this latest stint—or look how he didn't even think twice about when the Red mission happened on the moon. I've been worried about him, seriously worried. I think, and as crazy as this sounds, that it's time for us to step in a give Tommy a nudge in the right direction."

The others nodded as did Zack.

"So, what you're saying is you want all of us to play Dr. Love for Tommy with either Kim or Kat?"

"Basically."

"I'm game." The exchange between he and Jason had caught the attention of the rest of the group as absolutely evil smiles had started to appear on their faces.

"So, how do we pick who to help and support?" The look on Aisha's face was classic.

"Honestly, I have no clue on how this is going to work. This is all Kim and Kat, but I guess just do what you can. I think by the time the two of them get back into town their going to have a solid idea of how they're going to go about this." Trini nodded her head at what she said. She was the resident mind Dr after all, so Zack would take her at her word.

"Okay, so what about this Ranger thing? We have all the teams here on Earth and those space teams coming—what about Billy?" Smiling over at Tanya, Trini motioned to Jason, who brought out one of the only things that had been able to salvage from the Command Center—the original viewing globe. Walking into the middle of them and placing it on the table in the center of the room, Zack sat up to get a good look at it.

"Man, it's been forever since I've seen that thing. Where have you guys been keeping it?"

"Whenever I had this place built I contracted for a safe room to be made. It's where I keep any Ranger memorabilia that I have…and my collection of figures that T.J gets for me." At that a small chuckle was shared between them.

"Will that thing even work here?"

"Yeah, Billy explained to me that the viewing globe wasn't a Powered or technologically advanced item that Alpha had created, but was instead a much older relic from Zordon's own personal time as a member of the Council of Meledon. The viewing globe works on the user concentrating their thoughts on a specific thing that they want to see. It's why the exact image Zordon always wanted to show us would pop up whenever we looked inside of it, because he was the one broadcasting the image on the screen. It's also able to serve as a wide scale communicator between the other's of its kind. Although the only other one I know of is the Viewing Globe on Aquitar. Which is another reason I've called all of us here Zack—so we can all invite Billy together!" At that, everyone became excited as Trini began concentrating on the viewing globe. Honestly some of the stuff her and Billy had been able to understand about the Command Center and the way the things worked had always been way above Zack's head.

After a few moments, images started to appear in the viewing globe. One showed Kat and Kim both packing, the smiles on their faces made Zack smile, the image shifted again to show Tommy alone in what looked like a secluded forest—behind him a very woodsy looking home was stations while he went through what looked like an extremely rigorous Kata, each move precise and fluidic. He could notice the admiration appreciation in Rocky, Adam, and Jason's eyes at Tommy's form. Just as soon as the image solidified, it shifted once again to a scene that the Rangers hadn't seen in a very long time. Standing in the line of sight were Aurico, Delphine, and Cestro. Giving the rangers their tradition Auquitian sign of friendship and opening of communications Delphine spoke up.

_"Greetings Rangers of Earth, it has been a long time since we have had a communication from you. It is good to hear from you."_ Jason moved front and center as Trini's face was held in a solid state of concentration.

"Greetings to you to Delphine, it's good to see you again."

_"And you as well Jason." _

"We're sorry that it's been so long since we've contacted you, but ever since we lost Zordon and the commence center it's been near impossible to get a transmission to Aquitar."

_"That is understandable Jason. Also, you can tell Trini that she no longer has to maintain the connection, we have connected the Viewing globe there to the one here on Aquitar once more." _ Trini gave a sigh of relief as she mentally let go, the strain immediately disappearing from her body.

"Thanks. I'm sorry to be so sudden with this Delphine, but is Billy there? I don't mean to be rude, but we were wanting to know if it would be possible for us to talk with him." As Jason spoke, the Alien Rangers took to looking at each other, and then in complete informality, Cestro walked off, without bothering to say good bye. Stepping up to fill the void left by him, Corcus popped into view. The look of confusion on their faces had Zack a little worried.

_"I'm sorry, but didn't Billi…" _Before Corcus could finish speaking, Delphine held up her hand to stop him from speaking.

_"I'm sorry to inform you of this Rangers, Billy left Aquitar some time ago."_ Shock visibly overtook the entire group as they all shared a look.

"What do you mean Billy left Aquitar? What about Cestria, is she there? Can we talk to her?"

_"You haven't heard?"_ This time it was Aurico who had spoken, his voice slightly strained, and Corcus face looked worried.

"What do you mean we haven't heard? Aurico, what's going on?" Zack was sitting up now facing the viewing globe, he could already tell that Jason was silently fuming. On the screen, Delphine was looking at Aurico, but not before Cestro walked back into the main view of the globe. With his appearance, Delphine stopped all signs of resistance and allowed Cestro to take the center point of the group.

_"Rangers, I am sorry that I and my fellow Rangers have been so closed mouthed with you. The truth of the matter is that Cestria is no longer with us; we lost her some time ago during the initial formations of the Alliance of Evil. At the time Cestria and Billy had been visiting Zordon on Aquitar as a favor to the Aqutarian government. Unfortunately, around that time is when Dark Specter had began to lay siege to Eltar, and in the initial fall outs of the attack, Cestria was killed. That is all I can say on this." _Walking off from the view of the globe, Cestro left. The look of pain that had crossed his face at the end there undeniable.

"Delphine, we offer our condolences for Cestria, however you have to understand that now we're concerned for Billy as well." The look on the White Alien Rangers face was one of complete helplessness.

_"I am sorry Jason, but it is not my place to tell you more." _With a final wave of the traditional Aquitarian goodbye, the line of communication was cut.

"What the hell was that all about!" Jason looked like he wanted to throw the viewing globe across the room. Zack stood up and started pacing. He'd never actually met the Aquitarian Rangers, but by the looks on the faces of those gathered who had met them, they were all confused as to the way they had been acting.

"I don't understand, they've never been curt or rude with us. Overly polite to a fault at time, but never one's to just cut off communications like that." Adam was brooding, his mind going a hundred miles a minute.

"Guys, if Billy was on Acquitar whenever Dark Specter attacked, and Cestria's dead…you don't think…" Trini was on the edge of it now. She was near in tears, and right now Jason was still to fumed up to be of much help, walking over to her, Zack enveloped her in a hug,

"No of course not Trini, if nothing else, they would have told us if that had happened. I may not know them well, but I know they would have told us if that was the case." He held her, and could feel the near panic Trini was near. Although he knew she was most likely in love with Jason, she and Billy had shared a special friendship, completely unique to the two of them. Billy had grown close to Trini as one of the only people who could completely understand him, and he had found an equal in her that he didn't have to 'dumb himself down' for.

"But if Billy isn't dead, then why hasn't he come back here? Or back to Acquitar! And oh my God, what must he have gone through losing Cestria!" Zack could understand. He was feeling a bit of it himself, more than a bit. While he had been here safe on Earth, Billy had been on Eltar, ground Zero for what would initially lead up to the invasion of Angel Grove when he had been stuck in Prague—which ended up being what caused he and Trini to leave the Peace Conference and make their way back to Angel Grove. They hadn't been able to make it in time, but when they had returned they had poured everything they had into rebuilding Angel Grove. It had also been when they set up the Ranger Fund. Initially Zack had sat on the council that had seen how it was being spent.

"I know Trini, but there's nothing we can do right now." Looking over at Jason and the others, Zack could see that they were all just as affected as he and Trini were.

"Do you think there's any chance that T.J would be able to get in touch with the Space Rangers and see if they've heard anything?" Adam's outburst had gotten everyone thinking. Immediately Jason moved to the secret room. The look of determination on his face flat out clear. Hugging Trini, Zack silently hoped that everything would be fine.

Delphine stood in front of the viewing globe, her eyes staring into it, remembering the look on the Earth based Rangers faces. She had remembered how that had felt, whenever they had received Billy's message telling them that Cestria had been killed in the initial invasion of Eltar. How that had happened had never exactly been revealed to them, but when it had occurred, the Acquitarian council had retaliated full force. The Council had decided that since a diplomat of their planet had been killed, and because the Alliance of Evil had attacked the peaceful and allied planet of Eltar that they wouldn't remain a neutral factor in the Universal war that had been going on. To that end, Delphine remembered motioning for the Acquitarian Council to do something it had never done before: to send the Acquitarian Rangers away from Acquitar in order to join the fight, along with half of the Acquitarian forces.

Before Delphine's motion, the only time they had been sent away from Acquitar had been when Zordon had requested them, and then how could they have said no to the individual who had given them the protection of the power? She remembered standing in front of the council that day, dressed in the formal attire that she would be presented in as the Leader of the Rangers of Acquitar. Cestro stood to her right, morphed, and Aurico has supported her by standing with her on her left, fully morphed and daring anyone to approach Delphine. Her dear protector had heard the rumors that had been passing about the radical changes that she had been bringing…

_Delphine stood before the full council, something that hadn't been assembled in what felt like an eternity. She knew at the current moment that she was not a favored individual in the eyes of the council. Ever since she had gotten the missive from Billy that Cestria had died helping to defend Eltar, her own deeply rooted emotions had surfaced to the core. The Acquitarians were not a race led by their emotions, but she remembered the look that been on Billy's face at the loss of the individual that he had given up his planet for, the individual that he had given up his race for, and the individual that he had given up his heart to. With that thought in her mind, and with her subordinates standing beside her, in full support of her, she stood in front of the Council. _

_"Honored Council, you know who I am. I am Delphine, chosen White Ranger and Leader of the Acquitarian Rangers. However, today I come before simply as Delphine, a citizen of Acquitar, and a Acquitian in grief over the loss of not only a very dear friend of mine, but also the loss of the sister of one of my subordinates._

_I stand here questioning you, the council that has been chosen to lead me, not as a Power Ranger—of which the power given is derived from the Eltarian Zordon, a gift to us to keep our planet safe; but as a citizen of Acquitar questioning how we can still sit here on Acquitar while the Alliance of Evil moves to lay claim to more of the universe in such a way that has caused a Delegate of this Council, whom was sent by the will of this Council to Zordon, to be murdered while on a mission of peace to Eltar. How can we as a planet, as a species, as fellow partakers of this beautiful universe allow vile entities like Dark Specter to move uncontested when he has so blatantly taken one of our very own from us!" _

_Beside her, she could feel Cestro's emotions coming through. The sorrow at the loss of his dear sister had near on enraged him when he found out. It had been all she had been able to do to keep him from heading to Eltar on his own. However, no matter what the circumstances he was her subordinate, and she would not allow him to go off on a useless mission of revenge, not allow him to waste his life when they could do so much more, when they were MANDATED to do so much more!_

_"Delphine, what is it you would have us do?" She had been waiting for Council Chair Maricu to make his words known. _

_"What would I have you do? I would have this Council take action and no longer ignore what is going on outside of the atmosphere of Acquitar, as much as we would like to believe that this is only an external matter for someone else t handle, when Cestria died, we discovered that this is not someone else's problem, but it is the duty of we who are able to act to do so."_

_"And what of Acquitar? What happens to us when we send you and your Power Rangers to defend the rest of the universe? I think not Delphine. I grieve for the loss of a Delegate of this Council, however it was her choice to leave with the Human William Cranston," Delphine did not miss the sneer he had at the word 'Human', "She decided that she would serve Acquitar by being a Delegate. It was her own choice that lead her to her eventual end. We Grieve for her, but it is a making that was brought upon by her doing alone." Delphine knew that it wasn't just Cestro that rage flooded through. Aurico was already on the edge, and she herself was barely able to maintain her composure. She only needed this session to last a little longer though. _

_"As much as you would like to assume that the death of Cestria is on her, Council Chair Maricu, are we to believe that Acquitar should return to the isolationist planet and society that we were before? Where would we be now, if others had felt similar to Acquitar now? What of Zordon? What of KO-35, What of the Cimmerian Planets! How can we stand before any of them, those who came to our aid when we needed it, and deny them the aid that they rightly deserve from us—they who first helped us, will we now turn our backs on them!" The feeling in the Council room thickened as she spoke. She knew that aside from Maricu that the others felt as she did. 'Corcus and Tideus'….. No sooner than she had thought of them, than did they burst into the room, Tideus dragging in the traitor she had been looking for. Signaling the fully morphed Corcus and Tideus to throw their charge in front of the council, they did so and took up formation alongside Aurico and Cestro._

_"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE DELPHINE!" Maricu was not pleased to see his co conspirator in this council chambers. _

_"I think you know very well what the cause behind this is!" With that Delphine moved in. she had been disgusted when she had discovered that for the protection of Acquitar, the Maricu had surrendered Eltar to Dark Specter. "Council members, I present to you Phalx Thar of Onyx, three weeks ago, the other Rangers and myself had discovered Transmissions from Acquitar had been sent to Onyx, relying vital information that we had in confidence from others—should we ever need to support or ally ourselves to their forces. When we discovered this, we began an investigation to get to the bottom of it, and it is conclusive that the trail leads to Council Chair Maricu, who sold out Eltar to Dark Specter! Any proof we require is here currently before us." _

_Walking up to Phalx, Delphine made to lift him before Aurico stopped her. "Allow me Lady Delphine, you should not have to touch such refuse as this." Aurico grabbed him, pulling him and presenting him before the council, and then commanded him, "Speak!" _

_By this time, she was sure that Phalx was more than willing to speak, she had left explicit instructions with Tideus and Corcus beforehand concerning the matter of him not wanting to talk. Soon, the conspirator's voice filled the chamber. _

_"What the woman says is right; I conspired alongside Maricu to help sell Eltar to Dark Specter in exchange for the inclusion of Acquitar into the Ranks of the Alliance." Maricu didn't let the others have time to react, Jumping up from his seat, those loyal to him immediately moved in on Delphine and the Rangers. Even before she could blink Cestro, Corcus, and Tideus were dealing with those foolish enough to unveil themselves here instead of simply letting Justice be done to their fool of a leader. _

_Maricu moved straight for Delphine, but even before he could reach her, Aurico dispatched of him—which was an impressive feat. Maricu had been a respected warrior on Acquitar, but against Aurico he fell. Turning from Maricu, Aurico returned to her side, daring anyone else to approach her. Delphine kept her composure, letting the Rangers handle the situation. As she had said before, she was not here as a Ranger of Acquitar, but simply as Lady Delphine of Acquitar. _

_"As you can see Council Members, even within our own walls, the vileness of Dark Specter has reached. How will we let the universe remember Acquitar!; as the planet that betrayed Eltar and Zordon to Dark Specter, or as the planet that fought alongside individuals such as Trey of Trifoira and William Cranston?" Letting that soak in on them, she pulled out her morpher and transformed before their very eyes into the White Ranger, letting the power surge through her. No longer was she Lady Delphine of Acquitar. She was now Delphine, Leader of the Power Rangers of Acquitar, Protégé of Zordon of Eltar, and the White Ranger to any who needed her._

_"The Council of Meledon has called for the Power Rangers to assist in the battle for Gratha. We, who inherited the Legacy of Power from Zordon Of Eltar request the aid of the Council Of Acquitar—with or without your aid, we go." Turning from them, Delphine left the council chambers, Aurico tailing right by her side, making sure no one else moved to try anything against her. Cestro and the others soon followed. First they would go and gather their supplies, and then they would head out for Gratha—KO-35 was already in full rebellion against Dark Specter, the Red Space Ranger Andros would not be fighting alone for much longer…_

"Do you think we should have told them Delphine?" Aurico's voice brought her back to the current moment; she was still looking into the viewing globe. Turing around and placing a hand on Aurico's cheek, she looked into his eyes.

"Above anything else Aurico, I would love to take away the uncertainty of the Rangers of Earth concerning Billy, but you know just as I do the path that he chose to walk. If he didn't tell them, then who are we to do that for him?" Aurico nodded as she removed her hand. She noticed him looking at the viewing globe before whispering as she walked out, "…He's on Triforia." Turning away from Aurico, she let her mind return to the current task at hand. He was free to do as he wished, and he now knew that. There was the matter of an upstart named Grimm that she would now have to deal with before the Council…

* * *

Hey everyone. I was able to get this chapter out pretty fast. It's way shorter than my last chapter, but I'll make it up to you guys. From what it's looking like right now, I'm able to write about 5,000-7,000 words a day on this story, and I am literally posting these chapters as soon as I am done with them. I'm getting you this story as fast as I can, so we'll see how long this takes. I know I promised that the build up to the reunion wouldn't take long-I may have to break that promise by a little, but I will try to use as little chapters as possible by making each chapter a massive chunk of the story. I just wanted you guys to have something today. I'll take more than a few hours on writing the next chapter-i'm thinking about two days and give you something significant.

Anyways, thanks for sticking with this story, and for the reviews. Keep them coming in. And for you Hardcore peeps, can anyone guess where this plot point is going? ;)

R&R

Divinitas Intereo


	6. Act I pt V

Act I Pt V

Jason was fuming. No, he was beyond fuming. Before, the Aquitarian Rangers had been people he thought he could trust completely, people who, like him and his team, and were bonded to the Power and bonded through the Power in ways that other beings that had to live without the power would never understand. Now for the first time ever he was questioning that bond. Why they wouldn't tell him what the deal with Billy was didn't make any sense to him. Currently everyone else was in his living room, Zack had managed to calm Trini down, and the others were contacting the Space Rangers; there was a slight chance that Andros might know something. Alone, here in his room, Jason fumed though. It wasn't that he had an anger problem, it was the feeling of slight betrayal he was feeling from the Alien Rangers—even above his own family, he considered the bond forged by the Power to be absolute.

As much as he was in a fury though, he also felt a deep seeded pain. Billy had lost Cestria. That thought regurgitated itself in his mind, over, and over again. Why hadn't he come home, what was keeping Billy from returning home now that the Aquitarian that he had stayed on Aquitar for was gone? From the way the Aquitarian Rangers had made it sound, Billy hadn't been back to Aquitar since the death of Cestria. What also had to be noted for him was the fact that this had gone down around the same time that Eltar had been attacked the first couple of times. That means Billy had been there with Zordon and Alpha when Eltar was being attacked. That set his mind a little at ease. Not wanting to over think it, he'd been out of the Ranger scene by then and didn't have enough information, he grabbed his phone, which was patched to the Communicators of the Rangers, and dialed up the only Ranger he knew that would possibly know something about this entire situation.

_"This is Tommy, go ahead." _The sound of his friend's voice coming through the line caused a sense of momentary relief to surge through him. Although he had been the original leader of the Power Rangers, Jason was man enough to admit that he had abdicated easily to Tommy. Jason had been placed as the first leader due to the fact that out of the candidates that Zordon had chosen then, he was the best one for the job. Tommy had been born to be the leader for the Power Rangers though. When offered the White Ranger Powers, he hadn't even thought twice about accepting the Power and the responsibility of not only being a Ranger, but also taking on the task of leading five of his peers into battle with the knowledge that they would be constantly depending on him.

"Hey man, it's Jason. I need to know—when was the last time you heard from Billy?" On the other end of the line, Jason could tell that Tommy had shifted. He didn't know what he was doing, but for some reason, he knew that Tommy was preparing for a long conversation.

_"It's been awhile, why do you ask?"_

"Earlier, about 30 minutes ago probably, Trini and I contacted the Alien Rangers to try and get in touch with Billy, for old times' sake and all. When we got through to them, they let us onto the fact that Cestria was dead, and that Billy had left Aquitar a long time ago. Do you know anything about any of this?" Jason waited, Tommy's silence speaking more volume than Jason could imagine.

"…Tommy, what do you know?"

_"Jase, I'm sorry. I knew about Cestria, but even my hands are tied here." _

"What do you mean your hands are tied! And why wouldn't you tell us about Cestria?" Jason's vision flashed red as the sense of betrayal from his former leader flowed through him. Hurt, anger, aggression, and a need to act flowed through him.

_"Listen, calm down and listen to me Jason. There are things about the Ranger World that weren't really told to us. I guess you can say we got special treatment due to the fact that we were directly under Zordon, and because of the fact that the Rangers of Earth—outside of the Space and Lost Galaxy Rangers, are considered strictly Planetary Rangers. After Zordon died, for some reason They came to me and told me about Themselves. Before that instance I'd never heard of Them_, _but I knew everything they were saying was true. Later, one of Them told me that the reason They had specifically come to me was due to the fact that I had been the last appointed leader that Zordon had chosen—it apparently made me his successor into their ranks." _

"What are you talking about? And who the hell are 'They'?" Jason was prepared to listen right now, but his interest had been piqued. Tommy was never one to hide something like this—he would never have done it unless someone had asked him… "What does this have to do with Billy?"

_"Whenever They came to me, it was the last time Billy had talked to me, since I had been the previous leader of the Rangers, and since Billy's last commission had been under me, by the rules that had been set down and agreed to by them and Zordon, I had to be told—in case anything happened."_

It was a lot to sort through, and everything still wasn't making sense. "What was Billy going to do?"

_"I don't know. After Billy told me about Cestria he said he wasn't done and that Alpha and he had a plan. That's all I know." _ Something in him told Jason that this wasn't all that Tommy knew, but he also knew that the loyalty Tommy had towards the Rangers was absolute.

"Just tell me one thing, is he still alive?"

_"Yes, and I am absolutely sure about that." _What more could Jason ask for? But why hadn't Billy come to him, or Trini? This was one of the few times Jason had ever found himself regretting that Tommy had been chosen to succeed him as the leader of the Power Rangers. If he had still been leader at least he would know…the thing would be though, would he have been able to keep it a secret like Tommy had? Once again, the respect he felt for his fellow former leader hit Jason in the chest.

"What do I tell the others?"

_"Just tell them you've been by yourself fuming. I didn't know what to tell them either. I didn't know what to tell you." _

"Why didn't he tell the rest of us?"

_"Being honest, I don't think Billy was in a good place then. I tried to get them to let me help, but they made reference to the fact that I was no longer a Ranger—at least not an active one. And they wanted me to stay on Earth—at the then time what they feared most was T.J and Andros failing in their mission. Luckily that didn't happen, but they wanted to know that someone like me, who was willing, could be found if ever I was needed. Launching myself into a galactic war of domination wasn't something that they were willing to deal with. It was hard staying behind and letting Andros deal with everything that had gone on then. Really hard."_

Jason nodded his head, even though Tommy couldn't see him. All he had wanted during those days was to be out there on the battlefield again when he had seen what was going on. Angel Grove overrun—it had been one of the worst days of his life, knowing how useless he had felt. He'd just broken up with Emily not too long before and had decided to stay with a friend he'd made in Germany for a little bit to just get away from everything. He'd watched news reports as they came in, wondering how his parents were, and even more, questioning the Rangers for the first time in his life. He hadn't been let down, but he always felt that had more to do with the fact that Zordon had made his sacrifice rather than the Rangers winning that fight. Then again, from the way Andros had described it, they had been about to lose all around, not just the Earth based Rangers, but every single active agent for the…who had they all been working for?

"I know what you mean."

_"Either way man, I need you to trust me when I tell you Billy is okay. Do him a favor and don't try and look for him; I don't know where he is, what he's doing, or where he's gone, but I remember one of the main things he asked was to make sure that you guys never worried about him."_

Again, Jason nodded. That sounded like Billy. He would be worried about everyone else.

"Okay." That was hard, but it was Tommy and Billy. He could trust the two of them—if nothing else.

_"Thanks Jason, Tommy out."_ Left alone with his thoughts, Jason turned to look out the window of his room and towards the stars. Somewhere out there, Billy was wondering through the universe. IT was odd whenever he would think to think about it. Out of all of them, even Tommy, Billy had done one of the most insane things he could have ever imagined. Moving to another planet, gazing out at the stars his heart turned back to the people in the other room, he had a duty to perform—what's more was that he would need to keep the conversation he'd just had with Tommy secret from them.

London

Katherine stared at the apartment they had been working on packing up for the past day in a half. She had no idea how the two of them had managed to keep so much stuff in his place without feeling crowded, sure it was a bit bigger than your average place, but still—how had she managed to keep six mint condition wall flyers of her first big name recital? And some of the backlog of Kim's stuff had just been sitting around in a random closet that neither of the two knew was there due to the fact that they had gotten the brilliant idea to put a mirror there—and yes, it was big enough to cover the entire door…and one they looked in frequently…okay that was not something she wanted to think about at the moment.

Turning over to the documents on her desk, she sighed. Burying her head in her hands and banging her forehead against the desk, she couldn't help but think how insane all of this was. She was moving to a different country for the third time in her life—and not because her dad had gotten a different Job, or because she had been offered a fantastic future…but to chase after a man she had seen in a couple of years whose heart she had broken…oh if her mother ever found out why she was actually moving back to Angel Grove, she would murder Kat.

"Penny for your thoughts Kat?" standing at the entrance of her door, Kimberly looked like the ideal composed individual for this entire situation. Honestly, she had been going at everything hard core. In the past day she had already alerted the label's she worked for that she would be sending them a forwarding address due to the fact that she was moving back to the states. The bands she frequently worked with had even sent some of their members over here to see if she wouldn't think about staying—her Ballet troupe had done the same thing as well.

It had been a shock to everyone they knew here when the two of them had began spreading the news that they were moving back to the states.

With a slightly stressed Kat sagged into her chair. "I'm just dealing with how insane we are Kimberly, and what with everything that's about to go on in the next month, trying to cope with the fact that the two of us may be about to make complete idiots of ourselves; coupled with the fact that not only will all of our friends be there, but people we don't even know will be there watching us as we do this. Not to mention if my mother ever gets wind of what I'm about to do she will literally kill me."

"Don't Kat's have nine lives?"

"Very funny Kimberly, not all of us have mom's that say we should write a novel about the entire affair after it's done and see how it sells." The smirk on Kat's face was mirrored on Kimberly's, although her dear Kimberly also had a blush accompanying that smirk. Kimberly had called her mom to let her know she was moving back to the states, unfortunately Mrs. Dumas knew her daughter far too well, was entirely too perceptive, and was abnormally aware of her daughters teenaged life—outside of the fact that her daughter had fought evil monsters in near on skin tight spandex that left nothing to the imagination. In the back of her mind, one of the things she silently took for granted was the first time Tommy had seen her morphed. He had never approached her while he was dating Kimberly, but she remembered the lingering glance that he'd given her in something that tight and form fitting. She had absolutely reveled in it…and then there was that time in the turbo Zord's that she would absolutely never reveal to anyone else.

"What are you thinking about?" Kat jumped as she looked at Kim. Uh ho. They were best friends, and Kimberly and her had gotten to the point where they could read the other like open books that had a companionable commentary they came with the novel. Her face went red. She had to stop thinking.

"Nothing, just thinking about how ridiculous that idea your mom suggested was."

"Uh huh, not going to work, spill it." The evil smirk on Kim's lips was mortifying as Kat stared back at her.

"Really, Kimberly, it's nothing."

"Then why do you look all hot and bothered dear Kitty Kat? Did someone dig up a special memory?" That had been a recent rule between the two of them that they had come with concerning this whole crazed idea that they had committed themselves to. No secrets where Tommy was concerned. In order to keep their friendship intact they were both going to have to know when to back off if it looked like Tommy had finally made a decision, but didn't know how to let the other know that the choice had been made. Oh god, this entire idea was insane! It was like telling the man it was okay to cheat on them for this period of time! Then again…

"Kat? Care to share?"

She shook her head no.

"Sharing is caring Kat."

"I swear Kimberly; this is turning both of us into perverts! And we haven't even started!" Over the past 8 hours since that particular rule had been introduced, they'd revealed more about themselves and the object of their affection they either one of them had probably ever intended to.

"Spill it Kat, if I had to tell you IN DETAIL about how Tommy got his first hand job, then you're going to suffer through EVERY embarrassment that I had to go through telling you that!" Katherine couldn't help but giggle as Kim brought that back up. It was actually a funny story involving Aisha's parents, Aisha herself, and Tommy jumping off the roof of their house, with his pants around his ankles. How Kimberly had even thought that had been a good time to start experimenting was beyond Kat.

"ALRIGHT! I banged Tommy in his Turbo Zord." That did it. Kim died laughing.

"How in the world did you manage that one?!" The broken speech was almost illegible, but Kat couldn't help but blush at the entire situation!

"Okay, so it was about a month before he and I left the team, and we'd just had the most terrible day. That Divatox had been a real bitch, as I'm sure you remember, and at the time, she'd spent most of her time targeting everything and anything that even resembled being important. Anyways, we had been so busy around then that we hadn't really had the time, between Tommy's racing, my teaching, being Rangers, dealing with being in the real world, and just everything else, to actually be together. I'm not going to lie; I was horny as a 16 year old boy with a hot teacher." Oddly enough, Kim nodded at that along with her. Of course, then she had to remember that Kim had been teach Gymnastics ...something that wasn't just a girl sport, and leotards had been the outfit of choice back then. Hmm, they would have to have that discussion someday. She had loved teaching in Angel Grove high, but it had gotten weird after she had found out about the Kat Pact—some little perverts had made a fanclub the revolved around getting pictures of her while she was…well, while she was doing anything. What sucked for her is that they'd also gotten around to calling their right hands, "Miss Kat". What sucked even worse was that she had found out because they had tried to recruit Justin, and that had been too much!

"One day, after we were getting back in from a battle that I'd kinda had to go straight to in the middle of a shower; I noticed Tommy had yet to get out of his Zord. When I walked over to him in his Zord, he told me to stay where I was. Curious on why he was so adamant that I stay away from him, I climbed up and noticed that he had a hard on." Kim couldn't help laugh at the little admission. The both of them had soon found out why Tommy was always wearing jackets around his waist, or his shirt untucked. If he saw anything of the object of his desire—well, he used to have a bit of a control issue.

"  
Well, when I noticed that, and then noticed that everyone else had already gone the absolute most evil thought came into my head. So I jumped in the damned thing with him and decided it was finally time we had some US time."

"How was that?"

"Fantastic, up until the moment we almost got busted by Alpha. And then there was the whole dealing with Dimitria thing. Honestly, having an Inquitarian as a mentor was horrid for the two of us since all she basically did was asked questions all the time!"

"Wow, you must have almost been busted for a lot of things."

"Oh, you have no idea Kim, there would be times when we thought we were busted due to the line of questioning that was going on, only to find out that we were in the clear. Definitely missed Zordon, he was awesome."

Kim nodded her head hard core in agreement. Although all of the Rangers had loved Zordon to one degree or another, she had been the one who had considered him a father—The relationship the two of them had was basically like a father daughter relationship, and she had been the woman to serve him longer than almost any other Ranger; the only one overlapping her had been Tommy. Zordon's Falcon and Crane. She'd always felt weird using the Crane Powers, and had never really come into her own until she'd gained her Zeo crystal.

"So, how much longer would you say we have until we can start shipping stuff to the place we found in Reefside?"

"I dunno Kat, maybe another day or so? From what Trini was telling me about this place, it was ready as soon as we put the deposit down. Plus, from what I hear, she was going to gather everyone from the team, aside from you, Tommy, and me and have a meeting about this whole situation. I've been meaning to ask how Billy's been—I feel so bad that I haven't talked with him at all since right before he left for Aquitar."

Kat nodded this time. Billy had chosen to stay on Aquitar due to the fact that he'd fallen in love with Cestria.

"Who'd of thought that Billy was more of a romantic than either one of us Kim?"

"Yeah, we couldn't leave a dream for Tommy, but Billy left one of the most promising futures on this planet, humanity, and even his fear of fish behind to be with her. Damn, I think we may have missed out on the wrong guy." With that they shared a laugh. It was a ridiculous thought and they both knew it. Neither one of them could have been happy with Billy; although he was genuinely sweet, they were just too different at the core of it all.

"Honestly, for awhile there I thought Trini and Billy were going to be the two that ended up together. She was his translator, and the only one of us that really understood him—to any degree."

"It really sucks I never got to see the two of them together. Or the old team together all at once, I would have loved to have met all of you before the whole evil bitch me."

Kimberly shocked Kat by bursting out laughing.

"What?"

"It's just if that had happened you would have run into evil bitch Kimberly, even though I was still good. I kinda didn't let girls like you near Tommy back in the day."

"Oh really, and why was that?"

"Because the man had a literal cult gathering that met up in the back of the girl's locker room. I found the locker they kept all their weird stuff in. Things Tommy had touched, some of the missing stuff he'd lost while in school, and this one time Tommy had to go commando—he always thought the guys had just played a cruel prank on him."

"Oh no, don't tell me!"

"Yup, those suckers were in there as well."

The look on Kim's face at the thought of some people basically stalking Tommy was classic but that…

"That still doesn't explain why you wouldn't let girls who look like me near Tommy." And she knew she had caught Kim.

"Kim?"

The smaller brunette turned to look at Kat, a small mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, I have a bit of an odd question, before Tommy was dating you, did you ever notice any other girls, aside from the Rangers ever come up to him?"

Kat could only nod her head no. As she thought back on it, every guy in their group would frequently get hit on a lot. She didn't blame the girls who would do it either. Although she had found her fancy in Tommy, she had remembered thinking how attracted she was to Adam, Jason, and Rocky. All three of them were martial artist who kept up a very serious discipline with it, and because of that their bodies had taken on a very, very disciplined shape as well.

"Well, the reason for that is because this one girl, Karen Stratford…"

"The one that transferred schools just before I got there?"

"Yes! That's the one!" Kim's little peppy dance before continuing caused Kat to give a little giggle.

"Anyways, Karen decided to take a pass at Tommy while he was in the boy's locker room. She snuck in while he was changing and stole a kiss from him and told him if he ever wanted more he knew where to find her. Well, Tommy was walking on eggshells the entire day after that one little kiss he'd gotten from her, so while we were at the park he finally told me what that slut had done. That night Aisha and I paid a little visit to her house. Apparently her parents had gone up to Stone Canyon to visit some family of theirs and she had stayed behind, we never knew why."

As Kim's eyes took her down memory lane, Kat could only think what she would have done to any girl that would have done that to Tommy while he was dating her. Everything she could think of involved her car. Particularly her driving it into them; on another note, she hated having to sell that, but it'd be easier just to get another one in the states.

"So, while she was there all home alone, Aisha and I snuck in and caught her relaxing in the bath with the only kind of boyfriend she could ever get…"

"Automated?" Kat couldn't help but add that in, their laughter a follow up to it.

"Yeah, exactly. Anyways, we catch her in the bath, and decide to teach her a lesson she'll never forget. The next day we post pictures of our handiwork around the school. A group of her friends knew what she had done, and they passed the word around that Tommy was off limits."

"What'd you do?"

"Shaved every single hair on her body off." The sweet way Kimberly said that was almost too sweet, and she could imagine the little fire cracker doing something like that. Especially with Aisha goading her on. The much estrogen in a room had to be at least a little bit illegal.

"…Remind me never to piss you off."

"Good girl."

_Astro Megaship_

_Unknown Parts of Space—_

_Recent Port: Lost Galaxy-Mirinoi_

Leo could tell something was up. For the last couple of hours, every one of the Space Rangers had been extremely jumpy. It wasn't a sense of danger; it was more like they were extremely agitated that they weren't able to do something. The looks of stressed out agitation were starting to catch and he'd decided to find Andros or Zhane to see what was up. The two of them had been two hard individuals to keep track of due to the fact that they had been in and out of the Astro Megaship since they'd received another communication from the Original Rangers. It was odd how that worked out. Now that Leo thought about it, when they had done the Red Ranger mission, even though Andros had formerly been the point man on deck, when Tommy and Jason had shown up, everyone had taken their cues from the two of them on what they would be doing.

That basically went for any of Zordon's chosen though. Apparently at some point in time, another of the former Rangers had helped the Space team black Ranger out when he doubted himself. He had been his predecessor as both the Green Turbo Ranger, and the last person to have worn the Black Ranger Powers before Carlos. Needless to say, if not for having met Tommy and Jason, he'd have been overly impressed; however there was something about those original Rangers that always had them coming back for more. Leo could understand to some degree, if Mirinoi ever needed him to become the Red Galaxy Ranger again, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Andros and Zhane had to be out again, due to the fact that he still couldn't find either one of the two of them. He'd been to the main deck, the engine room, the hidden compartment Andros had shown him—although why he would reveal a hiding place like that was beyond Leo; now all that was left was to head back to the main deck and wait for them. Karone and Kendrix had been hanging out there when he'd last seen them, and he enjoyed being around the both of them. The two of them meant more to him than any other member of his team. Although in different ways. As he was walking, the ways laid out in his mind simpler than he would have thought. Karone was simple: how could he not admire her bravery? Whenever she had been called upon to help them retrieve the Pink Powers back, without even questioning it, she took on the form of her despised alter ego to save them, and even beyond that, she accepted the responsibilities of being a Ranger for a group of people she wasn't even from the same planet as. She selflessly fought, following in the footsteps of her brother and her lover—seeing it as a way to redeem herself of her past crimes and letting herself be redeemed; which was impressive all together.

Kendrix—he loved her. There was no better way to describe his feelings for her than that. Walking into the main deck of the ship and watching as both Karone and Kendrix turned to face him, the way his heart nearly fell out at seeing Kendrix's face was hard to hide. He remembered Wes tale of how he had almost lost Jen, and how he'd thought he'd never see her again. While he knew his fellow Red had it rough, he at least had known that she was alive, some place, somewhere. Jen had still existed—it just wasn't beside him. When he'd watched Kendrix give her life to save Cassie's, it'd been one of the hardest things for him to do. He'd lost her. That had been one of the hardest things for him to cope with, losing Kendrix. She had been the first Ranger of Earth to ever die in the service of the Power.

Walking forward towards her at a steady pace, the only thing he could do was not even let her welcome him back into the room. No sooner than he was close enough, he grabbed her and just needed the feel of her. Kissing her without regard for anyone else in the room, he lost himself in her for a moment.

Releasing her, she smiled up at him.

"What was that for?"

"Because you're here." The smile on her lips was beyond reward enough for him. Turning over at Karone, he could see her rolling her eyes, although he knew she of all people understood. Zhane and her had a bit of a rocky relationship due to the fact that Leo wasn't all too sure that Zhane was a sane individual. He was overly daring, and apparently thrived as a thrill seeking individual. From what Andros had told him venting once, Zhane's first date with Karone had been while she was Astronema…how he had justified that in his head was way beyond Leo to even contemplate.

"Say Karone, mind letting me onto why everyone seems so stressed out here lately? Ever since we got that transmission from the original team, Zhane and Andros have been out the door now for the past three days. Not to mention that Ashley hasn't left the communications room since they got that transmission."

The look on Karone's face was contemplative, she was wondering if she should tell him. That was weird.

"Honestly, I don't know if they wanted anyone who didn't absolutely have to know knowing, but the transmission we got from the Original Black ranger—his name is Zack, was that one of their own, the Original Blue Ranger, William Cranston—more commonly known by the nick name Billy, has been missing for quite some time now."

Interest piqued, Leo sat down at one of the control chairs for the Megaship. Motioning for Karone to keep going, he started paying complete attention.

"Like yourselves, although a few years before you, Billy left Earth due to an unusual number of circumstances. From what I know, he went to Aquitar and ended up staying because he fell in love with one of the inhabitants from Aquitar."

"Inhabitants? So there's another planet out there with humans native to it other than KO-35, Mirinoi, and Earth?" The look of interest in Kendrix's eyes was undeniable; she was fascinated by the prospects of other human populated worlds.

"Oh, no—umm, Aquitar is the home of the Aquitarians." Turning around, she typed a series of quick commands into the computer and on the main monitor a picture of the planet, the section of the universe it was in, and a list of notables immediately popped up. Under notables five names sat: Delphine, Cestro, Aurico, Corcus, and Tideus—they were listen as the Aquitarian Rangers. She quickly tapped on one of the names and an image of what looked to be a regular human popped up—until you reached the face. On it some type of head…thing was attached to their heads.

"These are what Aquitarians look like. This is the leader of the Aquitarian Rangers—her name is Delphine."

"Wait, so a woman leads the Aquitarian rangers? And I thought Aurico was their leader?" Both Kendrix and Karone shared a look at Leo's astounded nature at the fact that Delphine was the leader of the Power Rangers from Aquitar.

"Aurico is the field commander of the Rangers. Delphine is the true leader, with Cestro taking 2nd in Command. Although you are right in thinking that Aurico is their most accomplished fighter. A few years ago, back when Dark Specter was trying to take over the universe, the Chairman of their Council had been one of the individuals involved in the betrayal of Eltar—the home world of Zordon. Anyways, apparently this Maricu individual had been a fighter of some great repute, one that was powerful and skillful enough to rise through the ranks of the Aquitarian Government. When Delphine had petitioned for the Council to send aid to Gratha along with the Rangers, she also busted Maricu. The reaction wasn't pretty, apparently there was a bit of a skirmish right there in the council halls. Maricu made an attempt on Delphine, who'd gone before the Council unmorphed. Before Maricu could ever get close to Delphine Aurico had dispatched of him."

"Yeah, I remember Aurico very well. I just never saw him out of Morph, and I'd been in a hurry to get back to Mirinoi." Kendrix blushed at that one, and he thought he might have as well. He'd left in the middle of a pretty passionate evening when he got the call from Andros that he was needed.

"Anyways, what's up? Billy went missing on Aquitar?"

"No…" The look on her face was one that almost looked like she wanted to cry. Kendrix walked back over to her, taking her in a hug.

"Is this what's been bothering you the entire time?" Nodding her head yes, Karone buried her head in Kendrix shoulder. The slight tears in her eyes wetting the shoulder of Kendrix, Karone continued talking,

"Billy was on Eltar with his fiancé Cestria—the Aquitarian he'd fallen in love with, whenever we began our first raid on the planet." Leo was overly aware of the "we" in that sentence.

"It was one of the first times Dark Specter had let me have full reign of an invasion force, and I remember reveling in it. We leveled entire cities with that first strike, with the information that we'd bought or stolen from the allies of Eltar, we'd managed to make the first strike a devastating one." She had looked up from Kendrix's shoulder and was staring back at Leo. Her eyes showed the memories of some of the more horrific things that she had part taken in back when she had been under the influence of Dark Specter. It was the first time she had ever had a lusterless and slightly tortured look in her eyes. It had to be terrible, being aware of what you were personally capable of.

"From what we've been told, Billy and Cestria hadn't gone into shelters like the rest of the civilians of Eltar had on those initial attacks. Instead they had both joined up with the Eltarian response units, and through an unfortunate number of events, Cestria ended up dying early on during our invasion of Elt—" she couldn't help it anymore, she choked up almost as soon as the thoughts of her being responsible for Cestria's death entered her mind. Kendrix wrapped her arms around Karone, letting the woman draw strength from her.

From Kendrix's embrace Leo could hear Karone's voice,

"How can I possibly face any of them?" He didn't know how to respond, as heart breaking sobs began to come from Karone. At that moment, Ashley walked into the door. Seeing Karone, she ran over to her in Kendrix's arms, and wrapped her arms around her as well.

"It's fine, Karone, it wasn't your fault." Ashley's soothing voice echoed out with messages of comfort as sobs wracked Karone's body. _"It always leaves scars on a person…"_ He remembered finding some time to ask Tommy about his own time under the influence of Rita as her Evil Green Ranger. The thought of that individual on the other side scared the living shit out of Leo. But beyond that, Tommy had told him that it left scars. He'd never mentioned it, and Leo had never really asked, but he remembered when the Green Ranger had shown up in Angel Grove—the newspapers had shown nothing but a rising body count for awhile, all results of the Green Ranger and his reign of terror on the city—single handedly he had defeated the Power Rangers of that era, but even more than that he'd been the direct cause of more deaths in Angel Grove at that time than any other person who had come before him. How he managed to recover from that strain, Leo would never know. The kind of strength it took for Karone to stand up under the kind of strain she was constantly under, he would never know. This must be only a small view into the world that the people who were cursed to have been on the wrong side before must have to deal with.

He almost wanted to turn away, the moment was a bit too much for him, and it was also something he would never understand. Even Kendrix seemed like she was at a loss here in trying to connect with one of her best friends. Ashley had the luck of spending every day with Karone, and she most likely knew some of the demons that still plagued her from that time.

After a little, Karone calmed down, wiping her eyes and getting small smiles from both Ashley and Kendrix. Turning back over to him, she sucked in her breath and continued on.

"Cestria was killed during the initial invasion of Eltar, and after that, Billy went missing from any records that we have. The only reason we even know that much is because of the fact that Billy sent a message to the Aquitarian Rangers letting them know what had happened…"

"Karone…" From the entrance of the room, the voice of her brother called out to her. Turning to Andros, she ran to him. Although Zhane was right beside him, he had an understanding look on his face. The embrace the two siblings shared in that moment was one of the most intimate things Leo would ever witness. He didn't ask, she didn't need to tell. All Andros most likely knew was that he had walked into the room who knows when during all of that and most likely heard the end of her statement. Looking at him, Leo knew that in his arms there wasn't judgment, understanding, forgiveness, or even compassion—no excuses for anything that had happened. All that existed there was the love of an older brother who saw that his younger sister needed to be protected, even if that was from her own memories he would do anything to do it. With one hand wrapped around her, and the other softly patting her hair as she took comfort in the closest thing that she probably remembered of their father, Karone finally found a modicum of peace in his arms.

Tentatively she lifted her head to look up at her brother, her voice coming out with a quiver still in it.

"Did you find anything?"

He shook his head.

"We've been searching everywhere we know to look, every hell hole and infested part of universe within reasonable distance. No one has even heard of the name William Cranston or Billy." Now Leo understood why Andros was putting so much into this, it wasn't just because the Original Rangers had called in a favor—it was far more personal than that. He wondered what it was like, having the family of a murder victim come up to the family of the murderer and ask them for help—ask if they knew if another member of the family had been killed by the same person or not. As off as it sounded, he knew this was more for Karone than it was for the other Rangers.

Before another wave of guilt could come on Karone, Andros turned her up to look at him.

"I will find him Karone." And with that assurance she was able to stand up straighter. Latching onto Zhane from her brother, he quietly led her out of the room, while Andros came to stand by the grid reader of the megaship.

"D.E.C.A I want to try something new."

_"I will comply if I can Andros."_

"Good, I want you to check the morphing grid for signs of the original Earth Blue Ranger William "Billy" Cranston."

_"One moment Andros."_ As they waited, Leo noticed the strain that was now apparent in Andros eyes. He knew now why they were so frantically trying to figure out what had happened to Billy. Walking over, her put a hand on Andros's shoulder and watched as the man turned around.

"You okay?"

"I wish I could have killed Dark Specter with my own hands for making my sister go through this."

Leo nodded, although he could never fully understand. Karone had told them her past, had told them everything that she could bring herself to while she had been serving with them as their Pink. It hadn't been that great, the two of them had been through a lot. What it must be like to see this all over the universe, and not just on one planet? To meet people who you effected in a way like this? It must be horrid.

_"My scans have been run, searching the Morphing Grid. From what it shows, there is no evidence of the residual energies of the Blue Ranger William Cranston." _ A crook appeared in the narrows of Andros's eyes as he listened to what D.E.C.A had to say. "And there's no way to enhance the search beyond the access to the morphing grid?"

_"That would require an entity like Zordon of Eltar, a being who was capable of creating a morphing grid for a planet—I can only scan what already exist." _

"Understood." Grabbing the crook of his nose Andros took a moment to think.

"The only thing I can do now is start scanning the morphing grid to keep watch for unusual spikes of energy—outside of us, there's only a few other individuals that normally use their powers."

Other individuals that normally used their powers? He knew about the Alien Rangers, but hadn't really thought to ask beyond them.

"Like who?"

Like Karone before him, Andros began typing into the counsel, and not too long after two individuals popped up. One of them was in a suit that was all black, everywhere, and that had a red ruby in his chest. The other was also decked out in black, but had a gold shield on his shoulders, white gloves and boots.

"The first one is the Phantom Ranger, that's not his real name; it's just the one that Cassie gave him back when she first met him. We never really learned much about him, other than the fact that he was on our side, and that the red power ruby that he wears in his chest is vital to his survival. The last time we saw him was on the planet Hercuon, we'd just narrowly missed saving Zordon. From what we know of him, he's one accomplished Ranger—he took on all of Divatox's forces on that planet by himself until we got there. As for his name sake, he's got the ability to turn invisible." Moving from the Phantom Ranger on to the next person, Andros's eyes were smiling.

"This next individual is Trey, Lord of Triforia."

"Lord of Triforia?"

"Yeah Kendrix, but no, don't let his looks fool you." Referencing the screen and Trey's slightly human appearance Andros pushed a button and three entities popped up on screen.

"Trey is the Gold Ranger of Triforia, the planet is home to a race of Triune entities that contain the three major characteristics of the specific Triforian on that planet. Here we see Trey of Wisdom, Trey or Courage, and Trey of Heart. The three of them come together to form the Warrior King Trey. Back when the Zeo Rangers were around he came to Earth to give them a hand—and for awhile Jason was also the Gold Ranger. Trey was near on killed once and had to find someone to safeguard the powers. Billy had originally been chosen, but due to the fact that he had absorbed an uncanny amount of negative proton energy when the command center blew up, the Gold Powers had refused Billy. From what I know of Trey after his stint with the Zeo Rangers, he had returned to Triforia—one of the true Frontier planets of the universe, and continued on as its guardian. During the whole Countdown fiasco, Trey took on the armies of Rita and Lord Zedd single handed."

Leo couldn't help but have an impressed look on his face. Both of these individuals were phenomenal. Fighting armies single handedly, without a team to back them up? That was stuff he usually only heard about the original Rangers doing—like Tommy escaping an island full of those tryanna drones.

"Anyways, these two are examples of other active Rangers in the Universe, although I can never really pen them down all the time. The Phantom Ranger lives up to his name a lot, we didn't even believe Cassie the first time she told us about him until he showed himself to the rest of us—it was my understanding that the two of them had a unique relationship." The faraway look in Andros's eyes let him know that he was currently reliving other memories; possibly thinking about all the chance encounters that he'd had with the other Rangers.

"So how long do we have until we reach Earth?"

"Well, we had originally planned to cruise the entire way—like Zhane suggested, but I think it may be best to get there as soon as possible." Typing into the main computer, calculations that Leo wouldn't have a chance of understanding came up quickly, Ashley coming to stand beside Andros as he was working on their course route, whispering little reminders about cosmological events that were occurring in some of the routes that Andros was looking at.

"From what I can see from here, and because the Lost Galaxy and Mirinoi are so far away from Earth, it's still going to take us another two weeks."

"I thought this ship was faster than that."

"The ship is fast Kendrix, but if we stay at top speed the entire time we have a really good chance of overworking the generators. The last thing I want is to end up stuck on Earth with a busted ship and no one but the people at the Nasada base there to fix it. It's not that I don't trust them, but they'd take way too long, and we have things that we have to take care of all around the universe."

Nodding at Andros's statement, Leo and Kendrix both moved back to let the two of them work on it. Man, there was a lot of stuff going on around here. Looking back up at the displays that still showed the morphed Phantom and Gold Rangers Leo let his mind wonder on what it was like being solo Rangers. Mike had been able to tell him a little of what it had been like being the Magna Defender, but apparently these two were almost always working alone.

Wrapping his arms around Kendrix, he kissed her forehead, thankful for the fact that he had her.

**Aquitar**

**Ranger Headquaters**

Aurico shifted through the files they had kept, the viewing screen bringing them as he moved between them. It had been awhile since he had last seen it, but it was still fresh in his memory—something about it had always intrigued his memory, and Delphine knew something she wasn't telling him. Why would Billy be on a planet that was currently still in a war? Although Trey and the guardians of Triforia had it under control, why would Billy chose to go to one of the few planets that still ended up locked in a war most of the time due to its placement in alignment with Aquitar and Earth. It would be a great staging point to attack either planet from. Normally such a place would have bothered Aurico, but he remembered Trey very well, most of the peace that came to Triforia was also because any two-bit warlords that thought to threaten the planet usually changed their minds after their first encounters with Trey.

Apparently Grimm had thought to try and invade Triforia, but after a few sorties with Trey involved he had considered Triforia a lost cause.

Continuing to look for the desired file, Aurico finally spotted the missive he was looking for. Pulling it up on the screen, Billy appeared looking haggard. He was dressed in traditional Eltarian garb, a black robe trimmed in blue, no doubt in homage to his tenure as the Blue Ranger. Eltarian's had a massive respect for any of the Rangers, but more so for Zordon's chosen, even though none of the original Earth Rangers had been to Eltar, aside from Billy.

Stepping into the middle of the screen, Billy spoke,

_"My friends, I'm sorry to report that Eltar has come under attack. We don't know exactly why these individuals have attacked, but we have confirmed that the first wave has caused total decimation planet wide. Whenever the planet was attacked, Cestria and I decided to join up with one of the first response teams—we couldn't just stand by while innocent Eltarian lives were being taken from us as we watched. Unfortunately during one of our sorties, Cestria and I were ambushed, along with a unit of young Eltarians; while we managed to complete the mission we had been on, sadly only two of us survived…myself and Korren, an extremely young but gifted Eltarian." Billy looked like he was having difficulty maintaining his composure. _

_"I'm going to stay here on Eltar and continue the fight, I have seen to it that Cestria has…honored in every way possible. I apologize that I'm unable to return at this time, but I cannot and will not allow this to be the end of this. Cestro, I am so sorry for your loss…" _giving the traditional Eltarian goodbye, something Billy had picked up whenever he had come here, the missive ended.

Looking back over the file one more time, he noticed the oddity that he'd never been able to pinpoint back then, that he had been in too much of a rage to notice back then. This hadn't been sent from Eltar, but from Onyx, what had Billy been doing on Onyx? And why would he send them this message only after he had left Eltar?

Summoning up the viewing globe, he calibrated it to Eltar and waited for a moment. Not too long after, none other than Korren appeared on the screen. He had taken to rising up in the Eltarian army after all of the initial invasion had happened. When the Aquitarian Rangers had gone to visit Cestria's grave after everything was over—and to pay their last respects to Zordon, they had learned that out of honor for Cestria, who had died saving his life, he devoted his life to the end of the Alliance of Evil, and had fought longer and harder than almost any Eltarian. When Zordon had been kidnapped, he'd been one of the guards that had been guarding him at the time, if not for him, word would never have gone out to Dimitria for the Turbo Rangers—and all might have been lost.

Giving the traditional Aquitarian greeting, Aurico started in,

"Greetings Korren."

"Salutations to you Aurico, Aquitarian Red." The Eltarian's were oddly formal about any active of former Rangers.

"I was wondering if you could perhaps help me uncover a quandary of problems I am having at the moment."

"If I can be of any service to you, Aquitarian Red, I will. I owe much to Aquitar." That was flattering.

"I'm looking for William Cranston, also known as Billy and also as the first Blue Earth Ranger."

The look in Korren's eyes shifted whenever Billy had been brought up.

"I'm sorry Aquitarian Red, but I know nothing of where Billy is, or what he is doing. I have not seen him since his decision to leave Eltar."

"Where did he go when he left?"

"I'm sorry Aquitarian Red, I know nothing of the Wolfs journey away from Eltar. I have not seen him since he left Eltar."

A moment of frustration passed from Aurico.

"Is it possible to tell me anything? Is there anything you can tell me?"

Korren's eyes strained for a moment, as if wanting to reveal the truth but unable to.

"It's fine, thank you for your time." Waving goodbye hurriedly, Aurico ended the communication with Eltar. Pulling up another viewing Globe, this time on Triforia, he dialed in and waited. A Triforian woman he had never seen, but had often heard of appeared on screen. She was absolutely radiant, beautiful red hair, almost crimson in color, and vibrant green jewels for eyes that would have captivated any individual.

"Queen Erian, it is an honor. I am Aurico."

The momentary puzzlement that had been on her face at seeing him instead of their planetary diplomat disappeared and was replaced with a vibrant smile.

"Aurico, the Aquitarian Red—it is my pleasure to meet you. If you are inquiring about my Son, Trey is currently dealing with a remnant renegade faction at the moment. Is there anything I can help you with?" With a momentary wince for the poor renegades who'd been foolish enough to try, Aurico continued on.

"Yes, I am currently in search of an earthling by the name of William Cranston—often times he will refer to himself as 'Billy', a nickname he likes to commonly use."

At the mention of Billy's name, Aurico knew that the Queen had heard of him.

"I am sorry, Lord Aurico, but I have not seen William Cranston."

"I was lead to believe that he was on Triforia."

"As I said, I have not seen William Cranston, now if you will excuse me; I have a meeting with the Cimmerian Delegate." Without farther communication, the globe shut down.

Turning away from the viewing globe, Aurico spent a moment in thought. Where could he be, and why would Delphine give him bad information?

Looking back at the missive he'd gotten, he decided it would be best to go another route.

Setting up the feed needed, Aurico placed himself in front of it. With the device prepared he hit the record button and laid out his message.

"Hello, I am Aurico. If anyone who see's this message knows a William Cranston, also known as Billy—an earthling who was a fellow resident of Aquitar, please let him know that those he left behind are now in search of him. Let him know that it is time he returned home. In a few earthern based weeks an event will occur that requires his return, a reunion with those who have lived without him for so long. Please, get this message to him. They worry and await your return." With that Aurico sent it out to the most likely places and waited. He was sure it would reach him somehow.

* * *

Hey Everyone!

Sorry this took a little longer than usual to get out. Something came up that had me busier than I should have been but here it is. I hope you enjoy the story! And I'm hoping you're enjoying everything that's going on. The next Chapter will focus more on events for the big Ranger Reunion...and I'm not just talking about the official one either. ;) I hope you guys are liking the story, and I'll update as soon as possible.

Please remember to read and review. It does wonders for me to see those reviews up there.

Divinitas Intereo


	7. Act I pt VI

****This Chapter is dedicated to Brankel1. You've been a big support for me with you comments and I appreciate the fact that you take the time out of your day to read this story, and review after every single chapter.

* * *

**Act I Pt. VI**

The yellow Camry pulled into the parking lot in front of Haley's Cyberspace, turning off the car, Trini got out and stole a glance at the red Corvette that was parked right next to her car. T.J seriously took his speed obsession way too seriously; and the fact that he never really represented his blue affiliations always had Trini wondering if having more than one color after you had worn red made it irrelevant. Then again, Tommy was wore more black than anything nowadays—but in his case trying to tie that man down to a single color was like telling the rainbow to stick to one; it just wasn't going to happen.

Walking in through the front door, she looked around and let the atmosphere around her calm her down. It had been four days since they had found out that Billy was missing and still, every moment of every day she was finding that to be the only things that her mind could concentrate on, staying in there here and now had been getting harder and harder, but the almost familiar environment of the Cyberspace Café had a calming effect. Next to Ernie's juice bar and recreational center, this place would have been one she wouldn't have been able to keep Billy out of.

The mass of teenagers that occupied the café was almost overwhelming, and Trini could see that even though the place was about to close that the active teens that frequented the place would have to be told that the place was about to be closed down. Smiling, she remembered how often her and her friends had stayed in the Juice bar way past closing time on several occasions. Ernie had been such a great individual back then, and had helped them get through a lot—it had been a great place to have in Angel Grove.

Spotting T.J sitting on one of the couches in the heart of the Café, Trini walked over, noting that he was managing to have a seat opened next to him; not that any of the teens were paying attention to one of the possibly four adults in the building at the moment. They were either too caught up in their drinks and conversation, or in the latest attracting over at the computers to pay any note to anyone else. Oh, the joys of being a teenager.

As she walked up, it seemed as if the former Red could sense her walking up, because before he could even see her, he turned around and looked her way, a big smile on his face. Gesturing for her to hurry up over to him, he got up, hugging her tightly. It'd been too long since the two of them had seen each other, and even though they had never served on the same team, had different mentors, and were twice removed from the same power source, the friendship they had developed was a strong one.

"It's been way too long Trin, how's Jason doing?"

Sitting down with him on the couch, she looked over to him and smiled. Good friends were hard to find for anyone, but with Rangers it was even harder. Being a Ranger had isolated and ostracized them from the normal society of people. Looking back on her High School life, Trini could barely remember anyone aside from her Ranger friends. Even after that, being in the Peace Conferences, she really only bonded with maybe one or two people—but since then she had lost touch with them and could only remember them in association with Jason or Zack. Having new Rangers to meet and come back to had been amazing; they were family.

"Oh, you know how it is; still throwing people across the Dojo, as usual—what about you? I'm surprised you're not being swarmed right now." With a smile on his face T.J pointed to a picture across the room. His face was on it along with a sign that read: "Meet the man who looks exactly like the legendary Blue Space Ranger T.J Johnson!" Unable to help herself, Trini burst out laughing!

Leaning closer to him, she whispered, "So what should I call you?" Smiling, he returned with, "T.J is fine, it comes with the job." She absolutely loved this devious little plan. It was honestly clever; she would have never thought that he would pose as himself to get out of drawing attention to himself.

"Any business so far?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he muttered, "Teenagers." Nodding in understanding, Trini took a moment to find Haley. She was coming out of the back at the moment, talking with one of her staff. Walking over to a center point of her shop, she stood little higher, signaled another of her employees, and clapped her hands three times—along with the rest of her staff. Every Teenager in the store turned or lucked up from what they were doing to stare at Haley. "Alright Kiddo's, it's been great having you here, but it's time for me to close up, as usual. If everyone can please log off, and start exiting the building, I can get around to having this place ready for you guys tomorrow. Thanks!"

Turning away from the kids, she began walking towards herself and T.J a big smile on her face. The teenagers who had been around the Cyberspace were clearing out; apparently this was a normal procedure.

As Haley walked up, Trini and T.J got up for the round of hugs that was about to start. Starting with T.J, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "So how did the meeting sessions go?"

"Well, I think some of them thought about coming and seeing what all the fuss was all about." The smile on both of their faces was classic. Who had come up with the idea to have T.J act as his own double. As soon as Haley was done hugging T.J she moved to Trini. Embracing each other they stayed like that.

"We'll find him Trini—with everyone we all know, there's got to be someone who knows where he is." Trini almost melted into Haley's arms. Honestly, aside from the small freak out she had managed at Jason's apartment, she'd remained composed since then and had been taking on the others, reassuring them alongside Jason that Billy was fine and alright. It was nice to have someone do the same for her, even though Jason was supporting her, sometimes the more the merrier.

"Thanks Haley, I really needed that." Smiling at one another, the two women turned towards Haley's office, T.J in tow.

"So how long does it take for this place to clear out?"

"Not too much longer, my staff is trained to start clean up about 30 minutes before I close—and all my sales are taken care of on the spot; oddly enough when I started off Tommy told me that it was best not to do open tabs. I have no idea where he got that idea from, but it's saved me a lot." Trini couldn't help but laugh at that.

"No doubt Tommy was remembering some of the times we had to leave Ernie's place in a rush—there were times when we would get tabs from his place that would have us working like crazy to pay off; Ernie was sweet enough though to never charge us the full price of the entire tab." Trini was happy for that; if he hadn't of reduced the price, she was sure she would still be paying for the cost of running out to handle Ranger business. He'd been a wonderful man.

When they managed to reach Haley's office, they all collectively stepped inside. Closing and locking the door behind them, Trini watched as Haley went behind her desk and motioned for them to get comfortable.

"We're good to start talking whenever you guys want; I've had this room secure since the Dino Rangers hung out here so much—plus, it's a great stress reliever to come in here and scream at pictures of Tommy."

T.J nodded as he began pulling out some files from the briefcase he was carrying. Laying them out across Haley's table, he handed one to Trini, the other to Haley, and kept one for himself.

"Normally I would have had to have this meeting with the current leader of the new team, but luckily for me this team is pretty well connected; not to mention this team has Haley and Tommy so you guys already know what's up. Trini's just here as a secondary member of the council to back me up so that nothing can go amiss."

Smiling, T.J motioned to the files that were in front of him and smiled as he saw Haley's eyes widen at what was laid out before them. Trini looked at the reports with familiarity—the numbers were nothing to her and she had dealt with seeing numbers way higher than this before; it came with the territory of being apart of the most popular team on the planet.

"And this is segmented between the four of them for any venture they want to take?" Haley's eyes rolled over the sheets' looking at what the Rangers had made from the Japanese T.V show that had been launched about them, the secondary toy sales in Japan, and the deal that had just been made with another toy maker for a release of toys based on the Dino Rangers here in America…along with a listing of which one was currently selling best in Japan.

"Are you kidding me? I swear, I thought Trent would have been the best selling one! Once, just once!" Trini and T.J nodded their heads in agreement, all noticing that the Black Dino Ranger was selling better than any of the other Ranger Toys.

"Yeah, I was shocked myself until I learned why—apparently the Black Dino Ranger comes with several different Zords and some how they'd managed to figure out that the Black Dino Ranger was a mentor to the team, and so it made his Toy a very sought after one. I was shocked it sold better than the Triassic Ranger one, but the people like what the people like."

Trini's head was in her hands. "Why! Why does Tommy always win these! He became Dr. Oliver just a month and a half before I became Dr. Kwan, out sold my toys every single reissue, and jumped into Paleontology with Anton only three weeks before I opened my private practice! This is really not fair!"

T.J was nodding his head. "I know the feeling Trini—whenever I end up at a public function its kind of grating whenever someone ask if I knew the White Ranger or Original Green Ranger."

Although Trini was still in a ranting type mood, when she looked over at Haley she couldn't help but notice the small smile that was directed at the sheets. As much as she loved to rant against Tommy, Trini knew that she was extremely proud of Tommy, the way the rest of their team was. He had really shocked all of them and being the one to lead and crate a team of his own when the Power called again without question…there couldn't have been anyone better. Although Haley was proud of all the Rangers, none of them had her friendship the way Tommy did. It almost reminded Trini of how natural and right his friendship with Kim had been.

"So when do we tell the Dino Rangers all about this? I mean, right now most of them are about to start College and everything, and aside from Trent the rest could really use the aid."

"We were thinking it should be left up to you and Tommy to explain it to them Haley. T.J or I could do it, but there's not need for us to complicate it for them. From what you and Tommy have told us about them, they're a great bunch of kids and most likely won't abuse this privilege."

Haley nodded her head, confirming what Trini was saying. "Yeah Trin, they are good kids. I know Ethan and Conner have both been silently worrying about what they're going to do. Ethan missed out on a few great scholarship opportunities due to his Ranger stint, and as we all know Conner missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime with Soccer."

Tommy had mentioned to Trini that these kids had been very dedicated to the Rangers, especially Conner and Ethan. Where Kira had her music, and Trent his art, the other two relied heavily on getting into schools to progress their needed talents. Computers and, apparently in a very surprising turn for Conner, the desire to open up a 501C-3 nonprofit organization so that he could teach kids across the nation how to play Soccer.

"It'll be taken care of. As usual, for the teams that are S.I we'll approach their parents: usually we claim that their student caught our eye through some type of event or test, run a bunch of official looking but completely bogus test and assessment, and then let the parents know that we are completely happy with everything about their little star child. From then on, through a few untraceable accounts and dummy charities, the Ranger Fund supports them through any endeavors that they may want to pursue." Trini nodded, T.J was already used to having this discussion—she'd only started coming along with him recently; before her, Zack had been one of the Rangers that would approach the Ranger leader with T.J. Having a background in negotiations helped a lot, although the only known Ranger of the group would usually be T.J. Although they had no problem trusting other Ranger teams, keeping their identities a secret was something that they held to for a number of reasons.

"And what about the rest of it? Obviously even if these kids were to splurge—although the only one who could do it successfully without being busted would be Trent, the income from the show and toys is ridiculous."

"The rest of that portion of the Ranger Fund is directed to Reefside. When the original Rangers were around, and Jason managed a meeting with a production company while fully morphed it was strictly agreed to that any funds made that were over a 30% net profit were to be used to repair Angel Grove. It was also used to coax insurance agencies to add monster attacks clauses into existing insurance contracts under the designations of "acts of God"."

Haley nodded. This was stuff she probably knew, or had figured out—but there was no hurt in keeping herself to date and informed with this. Trini could have applauded her. Tommy had been smart when he told T.J to have this meeting with Haley instead of him. She really was the brain behind the operation.

"Okay, awesome. I'll be sure to drop this news on the kids whenever I get the chance. Is there anything more that you have for me T.J?"

"Nope, so far as this that's basically it. Although I'm pretty sure Trini has a lot for us to talk about. I'm assuming you've heard of the Ranger Reunion that these guys are throwing?"

Haley smiled, but Trini could see her eyes slightly narrow at her. This was going to be a hell of a situation with her. No doubt about it.

"Yeah, Jason told me that we might have to do some planning after our little meeting."

Both of them looked to Trini, luckily, she had come prepared. "Yeah, I hope you guys don't mind staying here a bit longer. Jason and I kind of decided to do this on the fly—we only have three weeks to arrange all of this now; I was hoping we could kill two birds with one stone here today: Where it's going to be, and covering the cost of it."

"And like I told you when you told me about it Trini, the Ranger Fund can take care of every single monetary cost for this trip—including the travel and accommodation's of every Ranger."

"Is it possible to do that for all of you without raising any red flags?" Keeping the secret was important; it was something that Tommy had instilled in this team. It made Trini happy to see how much Tommy had kept to Zordon's code, and knowing that Haley valued that too was even better.

"Before Carter it wouldn't have been possible—but because we have access to be able to block out everything, and since they owe Carter and the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers a lot, he can get them to overlook any red flags for us."

"Man, it's nice that all you guys were able to play nice after that Red Ranger mission." Trini was still kind of sore about that. That was probably the most sexist thing that any team of Rangers had ever done…not to mention egotistical. She'd read Jason the riot act after she had found out about that. And they hadn't even been dating then—it was just degrading for her to think that the big strong 'men' of the Rangers felt that they didn't need their teams to handle stuff like this.

"Yeah. So like I was saying, the Ranger Fund could cover all expenses—it'll guarantee that all the Ranger teams will be able to be there. So cost for this thing is really not an issue."

"The only issue that I can honestly see is where to have this. Each of the P.I Rangers are watched whenever they go out into the public eye, and it wouldn't be hard for people to start making guesses if they see the Rangers they know, talking familiarly with a group of unknown people they don't know." Haley hit the proverbial nail on the head. Jason and her had been racking their brains trying to figure out where they could hold this where no one would notice.

"If it were possible, I would ask Anton to let us use the Island that he had while he was Mesogog—"

"You mean the one that Tommy was escaping from while it was blowing up?"

"That would be the one T.J." Trini couldn't help the small smile on her face. So what if she had a little ego competition with Tommy going on? It made her proud whenever anyone not on their team would reference something Tommy had done—or Jason. Mostly she just knew the Red Rangers, and like all Red's, they mostly just bragged about other Reds.

"So why can't we use the Island?"

"Well, it blew up again—plus Anton can't remember if there are any surprises there waiting for us." T.J nodded. It would have bee nice to use the Island, but there was just no way it would be possible.

"What about renting out somewhere?" Trini shook her head.

"Not possible, first off one of the things we want is complete anonymity from the public—we don't want to worry about having to keep our identities under lock. Plus, I don't even think it would be possible." Haley nodded her head in complete agreement with her. Jason had referenced that finding the right kind of place would be near on impossible.

"Are you sure we can't use that Island?" Haley shrugged her shoulders.

"We can give Anton a call, he's usually free at this time of day—he likes to spend time with Trent whenever he gets off from work; even though Trent was off today I'm pretty sure that Anton's still got this time slot free. And if nothing else, he may have a better idea for us." Nodding enthusiastically, Trini and T.J just sat back while Haley dialed up Anton, when he answered, she put the phone on speaker.

_"This is Anton Mercer speaking."_

"Hey Anton, this is Haley."

_"Haley, how's it going?"_

"Actually it's going great, are you able to talk right now? And is there a way we can make this line a little more secure?"

_"I'm able to talk but give me one moment," _Tommy had referenced multiple times how rich Anton Mercer was, but sometimes the abilities that normal people with enough money had blew her away. Her practice thrived, but having money she could blow like crazy she did not have.

_"Okay, we're all good. What can I do for you Haley?"_

"Actually Anton, I'm sitting here with T.J Johnson, the Blue Space Ranger, and Trini Kwan—Earths original Yellow Ranger."

_"Well this is a pleasurable surprise, it's an honor to informally meet the two of you."_

"The pleasure is all on our side Mr. Mercer."

_"Please Ms. Kwan, Anton is perfectly fine."_

"And you're more than welcome to call me Trini."

Smiling at the little bit of interaction she was having, Trini could see why this man was such a successful businessman. He was charismatic, had a very level voice, and extended courtesy with an easy hand. It wasn't forced, and his casualness with talking with two living legends was easy going and not strained—then again when you were the most recent evil entity on the planet, what could you do but be casual about it? Not to mention, he probably had more money than the Ranger Fund generated annually.

_"Well, what can I do for the three of you?" _

"Anton, this is T.J, more than welcome to call me T.J. Recently Trini and Jason—earths original Red Ranger, decided that they wanted to hold a reunion of every Ranger team due to the fact that two of the Rangers from their original team were coming back home from London. Kimberly Hart, the Original Pink Ranger, and Katherine Hilliard, the woman who replaced Kimberly."

Anton started laughing almost as soon as the names were out of T.J's mouth. _"Wait, do you mean to tell me that THE Kimberly and Katherine are coming back to California?" _

Eyeing Haley, Trini spoke up, "Um, yes. If you're talking about Tommy's ex-girlfriends, then that's exactly who we're talking about."

_"No wonder that guy never dated, honestly I was surprised that he turned as many women down as he did; I've got to admit, when he said that he'd been crushed by two former girlfriends, I thought that he'd just had some pretty bad experiences, I would have never guessed that both of them had been Rangers." _Jeez, how much of his past did Tommy share with people! Then again, Trini had to remember that Anton had been like a Mentor to Tommy back when he was in school—confiding stuff like this was normal for individuals. Not to mention that their relationship had gone deeper than just normal civilian activities. If Trini remembered correctly, Tommy had revealed his identity to Anton even before the Mesogog fiasco.

"Yeah, apparently Tommy likes to taste the rainbow." Anton and T.J both chuckled at T.J's little joke, although T.J ended up being the only one to have to suffer through the raised eyes and pointed looks from Trini and Haley. Swallowing a little, T.J adjusted in his chair. That's right, as tough as Red's were, they knew way better than to screw with Yellow's. And if Haley had ever been a Ranger, she would have for sure been a Yellow. Winking at Haley, the smug look on both of their faces stayed.

"Anyways Anton, the reason we called was due to the fact that we're having a bit of a dilemma trying to Organize this Ranger Reunion. See, we don't want the Public Identity Rangers to bust the Secret Identity Rangers; location is something we're having some trouble with—we were wondering if you knew of somewhere we that we could go." Trini watched as Haley crossed her fingers, and as T.J sat up straighter. Back to business…sometimes she missed saying back to action.

_"Huh, I actually may be able to help out with this. Not too long ago, a subsidiary company of mine acquired a resort here that's completely gated off from the community at large. It's located about 30 miles outside of Angel Grove in the desert. The place is basically an Oasis though—I was surprised when I saw it for the first time. Apparently high society individuals use it as a get away whenever their lives become too hectic."_

"Really? And how much space would we have? There are going to be about 50 through 60 people attending, and we would hate for there not to be enough room." Really, that would suck, this place sounded perfect.

_"Actually, this place is pretty massive. It's 400 acres of land—30 surrounding the main perimeter all around, the inner resort is protected by layered security to insure total and complete privacy. Honestly, I'm surprised we were able to acquire this place."_

Looking in between themselves, Trini, Haley, and T.J smiled. They had found their place. Speaking up in her excitement, Trini continued on.

"If you don't mine me asking, what kind of things does this place have at it? I mean, it sounds pretty impressive."

_"I'm actually looking at it right now, it's fully loaded, a complete resort like I said. It has everything from a Golf course to tennis, a gym, indoor pools, it's own club, bar, you name it, this place has it. Then again, I'm not overly surprised. If the high society spends their getaways here, it's what I would expect." _

Trini, T.J, and Haley shared another look and shrugged. The highest Trini had gone in high society living was the Alumni meeting at her College. Anything more than that and she felt out of place; even with T.J and the Space Rangers being celebrities, they rarely went out like that.

"I think we may have our place, what's it called? I'd like to get everything settled as soon as possible so I can let everyone know where this thing is going to be at." Trini was smiling. She could kiss whoever had designed this place.

_"Pretty interesting name actually. The place is called Bulkmier's, no accounting for the taste of the ridiculously rich, then again it'd be the type of place I would go since no one would expect it of me." _

A shock went down Trini's spine as she heard the name. Looking around at T.J and Haley, she could tell both of them were familiar with the sound of the name. There was no way…

"Bulkmier's?" Haley's voice almost squeaked at the word. Tommy had to have told her about them. But there was no way…

_"Yeah, apparently the place now co-owned by three individuals: a one Eugene Skullovitch, Farkas Bulkmeier," _

"Oh no." Trini couldn't help but face palm her forehead. Haley had hit her head against her desk, and T.J just started laughing, uncontrollably, and without any regard to the rest of them. Trini couldn't blame him. If she weren't so annoyed already, she would be laughing too.

_"Did I miss something?"_

Picking her head up from her desk, Haley shushed T.J. Trini didn't trust herself to speak.

"Farkus Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch, are you sure about those names?"

_"Positive Haley, I'm reading the ownership documents right now. Is there something wrong."_

"How in the world did Bulk and Skull end up running a private resort for High Society individuals?" Trini just couldn't believe it. It sounded completely insane! How!

_"Who?" _The confusion coming through the line had all of them staring at each other. Then again, they could only be impressionable to people who had known them.

"Farkas and Eugene, back in High School they went by the nicknames Bulk and Skull—us original Rangers were very well acquainted with them."

"Not just the original Rangers, Turbo 2 and Space dealt with them too. How did they end up running a top class resort?"

_"From what I can see here, they opened it back in the year 2000, it started as a small little bar in Angel Grove—they were extremely successful due to the fact that they were local legends. During the Astronema invasion of Angel Grove the two of them had surrendered to her invading armies claiming to be the Power Rangers in order to protect the actual Rangers. When the Space Rangers revealed themselves and ended up in a losing battle, it was the two of them that rallied the citizens of Angel Grove to stop cowering and stand up and fight for their own city. It's commonly believed that had they not done that, the Rangers would have suffered some major loses."_

T.J nodded his head. "I remember the citizens coming to our aid in that fight. I just didn't know it was Bulk and Skull who had rallied them."

Trini was shocked to say the least. From high school bullies to citizen soldiers? She would have never saw it coming.

_"Anyways, due to their local fame, a lot of high society life commonly stopped by their place. In doing so the two of them managed to make enough money over the next two years to fund the more exclusively private Bulkmeier's. Of course, their high society custom followed, and soon the word spread—although it was due to their third owner that they were so successful."_

"I'd almost forgotten, you said that there was one more owner to the place." Who would willingly go into business with Bulk and Skull? Trini had to know. The person was either the living embodiment of Zordon, ora saint. That was the only thing that could explain it.

_"Well, according to the papers I've got here, Farkas and Eugene gave 1/3 of their company to this man without any exchange whatsoever. They just added him to the company—of course it was a brilliant business deal on their part since he himself was a very popular addition." _

"So who was it?" Honestly? Who could stand Bulk and Skull enough to work with them? She had to know. She would go and personally apologize—it was probably the reason they'd had to give him such a large part of the company.

_"From what these papers say here, it's a man by the name of Ernie—" _

"OH MY GOD!" Trini's hands came up to her mouth before she could let out anything else. For a moment the only thing she could do was stare at the other two while they both looked back at her. Of course she expected T.J's look of confusion; she also expected Haley's surprised and shocked look too. What they probably didn't expect from Trini was the tears that slowly came to her eyes. She couldn't explain them either—but it was serendipitous; with Billy missing she felt that apart of her past had been ripped from her, now here came another back into her life as if my design. Something seemed right.

Haley had jumped up and walked around to where Trini was sitting as soon as the water works had started, quickly wrapping Trini in a hug. Trini just let her hug her; it felt nice to have her there. Not too mention that she really had been under a lot.

_"Is everything alright?" _

"Everything is perfect Anton, absolutely perfect." Trini knew that her voice was a little bit stuffy from the slight cry she'd just had, but she didn't care. Ernie! The others were going to flip out! "If possible Anton, can we get that place? We're going to need to rent out the entire thing—how much will that be?"

_"Nonsense, don't worry about the price—you can consider it a gift from me." _

"Anton, really we coul—"

_"Yes you can Trini—I've done a lot against the world, both as Mesogog and as Anton Mercer. Giving this little bit back to those who have worked so hard to protect this world is the least I could do; I'd rather none of you have a conscious for having to use the Ranger fund for this. And don't worry about this costing me anything—remember I own a large part of the company now and get a great corporate discount rate. When do you need the place by?"_

Looking over at Haley, Trini mouthed the words 'Are we sure this guy was evil?' Haley's response was to simply shrug and smile brightly.

"Two and a half weeks from now. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday."

_"Okay, I'll call down there and let them know that those days are not blocked off—I'll claim we're going to be doing some renovations or something so no one suspects that anyone is going to even be there. I'll also let them know that you'll be calling them to give them the details as well."_

"Thanks Anton, this means a whole lot to us."

_"It's my pleasure Trini."_

Getting up, Haley walked over to her desk and went over to the phone. "Okay Anton, we'll be seeing you in three weeks, do me a favor and ask Trent to let the others know about this?"

_"Sure, but are you sure it's okay if I go?"_

"Are you kidding me Anton?"

_"Thanks Haley."_

"Oh and Anton!" Trini spoke up before Haley could get the chance.

_"Yes Trini?"_

"Do me a favor and don't tell Tommy, us Rangers want to tell him about this in a special way." She couldn't help that a little deviousness popped into her voice as she said it. Anton's chuckle at the other end of the line told her that he had a pretty good idea as to why they didn't want him telling Tommy about it, but Trini was sure he would keep the secret.

_"Will do Trini. Alright, I'll get to work on this matter right now—you'll be able to call Bulkmeier's anytime you want to tomorrow Trini."_

"Alright Anton, it was good talking with you, and thanks again."

"Same to you Trini, bye." With that the line disconnected and Haley hung up the phone. Trini was practically beaming. As numbskulled as she was sure Bulk and Skull were, it would be worth it all just to see Ernie again—no wonder they had been so successful in running a private operation, what couldn't Ernie do?

"This is going to be so awesome! Ernie's back, I can't believe it!"

"Who's Ernie?" Trini beamed at T.J.

"I guess he was around before your time. Do you know the Youth Center and Juice bar in Angel Grove?"

"Yeah, Jerome Stone ran that."

"I have no idea who that is. Anyways, Ernie was the one who owned it back when the originals were the Rangers. It holds so much memory for us. You could say that we started our Ranger Journey at the Juice bar, we met Tommy there, and there's just too much stuff that we did there for the place not to be special, but what made it special was the fact that Ernie was there. He was a fantastic guy that no one could ever match. Honestly, it was seriously like having another Zordon, having Ernie around."

T.J nodded, knowing that it was the highest compliment that Trini could give a person, comparing them to Zordon.

"Yeah, Tommy's told me about Ernie before. He mentioned that the Cyberspace reminded him of Ernie's juice bar. After that comment, I can honestly say that I never got the full magnitude of the complement."

"Believe me, Ernie meant a lot to us. I was so sad when I got back to Angel Grove and found that Ernie no longer owned the Juice Bar—it was like a part of my history went with it." They stayed quiet for a moment, letting her go down memory lane. There really were a lot of great moments that they had spent at that place. Most of their time was spent there, if they weren't at school or doing Ranger type things. Or in Tommy and Kimberly's case, at the park or lake.

"Okay you two, well I've got to get out of here—there are something's I've got to take care of. I have another meeting tonight." The smile on his face was a dead give away.

"How many girls figure out you're the real T.J?" Haley couldn't help herself, could she? Then again, Trini almost said the same exact thing.

"Enough, bye you two!" Laughing, T.J rushed out the door leaving Trini alone with Haley.

"Well, that was fun. Learned some new stuff and got a lot of work done. Not to mention that I looked up Bulkmeier's while we were talking—the place is fantastic and it comes with everything—we literally won't have to leave unless we want to."

Trini nodded, although…"Yeah, although it being located where it is quite fortunate."

"Why do you say that Trini?"

"Jason and I were talking—if all of us are going to be together again, then we want to visit the ruins of the Command Center. Bulkmeier's is only about 20 minutes from where the Command Center used to be. I haven't been back since I first got back to California, and even then I could only make it to where I could see the skeleton of the building that it once was. I couldn't bring myself to go any farther—not by myself." Trini was sure there was a faraway look in her eyes; She could feel it there. Knew it was there because at that moment she was anywhere but in Haley's office. Se could smell the rock, and still feel the slight strain on her muscles from climbing that day. Only to catch a glimpse of the place.

"What was it like?"

"It was like staring into one of my nightmares." It had been a place that she had thought would be eternal—seeing it like that had made her choke up and be unable to continue. She hadn't been able to sleep that night.

"That must have been hard to see alone." Trini just nodded. Going alone had been the worst choice she had made. She hadn't expected it to be like that, not at all, and yet there the Command Center had been; a portrait of a ruined kingdom that she had once been a knight for.

"Anyways, there's something I want to talk to you about Haley." Trini did a half frown. They knew each other well enough that Trini knew that Haley knew what was about to get brought up.

"Jason told me about the last time he came down here to tell the Dino team about the Ranger Reunion. From what I heard, you weren't too happy about it."

"Let's not beat around the bush Trini—I'm all for the Ranger Reunion, I literally just helped set it up. What I'm not for is _Katherine Hilliard_ and _Kimberly Hart_."

Trini winced at the venom in Haley's voice.

"Yeah, Jason mentioned something about that. Look Haley, you're going to have to trust me when I say that this is honestly for the best. I know you have your doubts about this entire situation, but I know that this is the right move to make."

"Oh yeah Trini and what makes you so sure about that?" Geez, if Haley could retract the claws a little this would be going a lot smoother. She knew that Haley was over protective of Tommy, knew that Haley absolutely adored Tommy in fact. Although it was in the sweetest friendship she had seen kind of way. She had managed to predict what Haley would do when Jason laid on the big news, but she had no idea what kind of thought process had gone through her mind—what she did know what that Haley WOULD do anything she could to protect Tommy. She knew their history, and knew what Tommy had done for her.

"Because, I know these people. I know Kat, Kimberly, and Tommy—all three of them. I knew two of them before they were Power Rangers, and I knew all of them after. I also knew Kimberly and Tommy both before they were ever Kimberly and Tommy. I know them—I know the Falcon and the Cranes."

Haley winced a bit at that. It was the one thing that Trini could say to silence any argument. The Falcon and the Crane. The Rangers tie to the Ninjetti powers had come after her time as a Ranger, but she knew the depth of those Powers. Billy had explained that when Ninjor had made those connections that he hadn't just revived their power coins, he'd delved into their very souls and pulled out apart of the essence of what they were, what made them, them.

Although all of the then Rangers had been united in something sacred, there had been something special and unique about the Falcon and the Crane. At the time, the very essence of Tommy and Kimberly had been in love with one another, and the manifestations of their Ninjetti spirit animals had reflected that. The fact that they were both not only flight animals, but that they had always flown together had a lot to do with it. The same could be reflected in Kat. Some of the Ranger assumed that Kat just took on the mantle of the Ninjetti Crane and Pink Ranger powers—but if she hadn't been a kindred spirit with Kimberly, and hadn't shared a growing link with Tommy, then the Powers would have rejected her and Kimberly would have had to wait to find a new host for the powers. But Katherine had been the perfect person to pass on the Ninjetti powers to.

"They're still linked in ways that none of us can even begin to imagine. From what Adam tells me, back when they were on Murianthias—when Kimberly and Jason had gone evil, they had some severe trouble with them. Jason was tearing through the team like it was nothing, due to the fact that Tommy was busy trying to talk Kim down. From what I heard, if Katherine hadn't moved in to try and help Tommy, he would have actually severed Maligore's link to Kimberly without the need for Lerigo's magic to free her."

Haley swallowed and nodded her head.

"You've thought about this a lot haven't you?"

"Haley, when I heard they wanted to do this, I was halfway out the door to buy a plane ticket to make sure the two of them hadn't gone insane. This is so unlike anything the two of them would ever do. Despite what you may think of them, they're actually two very good and very sweet women. They deserve happiness, but right now they're locked down by one thing: Tommy. As long as he's a free agent, the "What if…" will always be there. In order for both of them to move on, one of them has to have him—and apparently Tommy can't seem to make a relationship work that doesn't involve either one of them. So the end result is that he needs one of them, just the same as one of them needs him."

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Trini sank back in her chair. She had thought long and hard while coming up with that answer, but it was the right one. She knew it was. It was a mess of a situation, and those Ninjetti powers only made it worse.

"It's a crazy position we're all in here Haley. When Kimberly dumped Tommy it caused a rift in the team, not just in the standing team, but in the former Rangers as well. In all honesty, back then when I saw myself looking ahead, I had always seen Tommy and Kimberly married with at least one kid by now. All of us had placed so much stock in that relationship because it was so strong—and then for them to end the way it did? It caused a bit of a rock in all of us. Zack's a player, Billy left Earth—although not directly because of it, he did end up engaged to an alien woman, Jason wasn't able to keep a stable relationship, Adam and Tanya keep dancing around each other, Kat's sucked up in the love triangle of Ranger history, and I wasn't able to make it work with Richard due to the fact that I didn't trust long distance relationships. I'm not going to even comment on Rocky and Aisha!"

The two of them couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Regardless of anything Trini, I still want to talk to them before hand. I know they get into town tomorrow. I want them here as soon as possible. I don't even want the chance of Tommy running into them before I get a chance to talk to them. I'm going to have the café closed tomorrow, so tell them where I am, and let them know that I'll be waiting for them whenever the two of them show up." The look on Haley's face was adamant, and Trini knew that there was no way in getting out of this. Sighing, Trini nodded her head.

"And what about the other thing Jason told me about? Your fail safe?"

Haley narrowed her eyes.

"What about it."

"Do you want to tal—"

"There's nothing to talk about Trini—that was not a threat, it wasn't a ploy. I'm serious. And it's not something that I'm willing to talk about either, but I do expect the two of you to keep this between yourselves." The woman was amazing clear-cut and simple. No hesitation whatsoever. Man, she would have made a fantastic Yellow.

"Understood."

"Was there anything else Trini?"

"No, I actually have to get going now. Jason only has one guest bedroom, so the two of them are going to have to share. I found them a place here where the can stay, a nice Loft in downtown Reefside about 6 miles from here, it's a great place for the two of them. It won't be ready until the day after tomorrow though." Getting up from her chair, Haley walked around he desk, while Trini stood up from hers.

"Remember Trini, tomorrow. I know they're going to be jet lagged, but I'll be here at 1:00AM if that's what it takes."

Hugging Trini, Haley walked with her to her front door and whispered a quick, "Be safe." Before locking the door to The Cyberspace behind her.

Walking to her car and getting in, she grabbed her phone and dialed up Jason as she pulled out from Reefside.

_"What's up babe?"_

"I just finished talking with Haley."

_"See what I mean?"_

"Yeah, I see exactly what you mean. It's going to be an interesting time, that's for sure." The road between Reefside and Angel Grove was luckily just a straight shot. All she had to do was hop on the freeway. There was so much stuff to get done.

_So, even for the magnitude of the meeting, it lasted a little long, did you find out anything or work anything out that I should know about?"_

"Yeah, we figured out where to have it and all, but I want to tell you in person, you're not going to believe this! Right now I just want to concentrate on getting home though—Kat and Kim are probably on their flight already which doesn't leave us much time for sleep."

_"…Trini they get in at 9:35 tomorrow morning."_

"Exactly my point Jason, not much time to sleep at all."

_"…Hurry up and get here."_

With a smile on her face, Trini hung up the phone and pushed the gas pedal down on her car a little harder racing to get back to Jason's. If their life was anything to judge by, the next few weeks were going to get hectic, messy, invasive, and exhausting—they were definitely not going to be getting much alone time, and she was almost more that sure they would not have any time for the activities they were going to be performing as soon as she rushed through that door. She was going to make the best of it.

**Plane Flight 4231  
**_First Class-Cubicles 1&2_

Kimberly sat across from Kat looking outside the window and over the city of Angel Grove as they flew over it. It had been a long plane ride, definitely longer than she had remembered—then again, she hadn't made the trip in over 4 years. She had woken up as soon as they were over Angel Grove—Kat and her had planned on beating the Jet lag by altering their sleeping times back when they were in London—it seemed to have worked. More than that though, the skies over Angel Grove were almost calling her home. If everything else had changed, the skies over Angel Grove hadn't…

"It feels nostalgic to be flying over these skies again…" Kim nodded. Kat would understand. They had talked about it before, and even though Kat hadn't felt truly accustomed to her Ranger Powers until she had switched to the Zeo outfits, the Zord they both loved the most was the Crane. Although Kimberly did like to think fondly back on her Pterodactyl Zord, she had shared the skies with Tommy in the Crane Zord-flying side by side along with his Falcon.

_"Fight 4231 will be landing in the next five minutes, please make sure you have all your items stowed away, your seat is in an upright position, and that your seatbelts are buckled. A flight attendant will come by to make one final check before we land. We thank you for flying with us today and we hope to see you again soon." _

Sitting back down and fastening her seat belt, Kim shared a look with Katherine. Jason and Trini were going to be the one's to pick them up; they had shipped their stuff to the loft that Trini had picked out for them and it was already there waiting for them. There was a hint of excitement in the air for the both of them.

"So, are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be Kimberly."

"Why couldn't I have picked up a cool accent while I was overseas?"

Kat had to contain her laughter at that.

"Because then you'd be too adorable to resist. Plus, you do have an accent."

"No I don't."

"American's sound…different than other English speaking cultures out there."

"Well, not in America Kat." Kat shrugged and gave her a lackadaisical smile. Kim smiled back. Sitting back they relaxed while the flight landed. She was so happy that Trini had arranged for them to somehow get last minute first class tickets! It would have sucked having to fly this flight coach—again.

_"Please be careful when grabbing your luggage, as some items may have shifted, if you have checked baggage, it will be located at baggage claim 3, We thank you for flying with us and hope you've had a pleasant journey."_

Getting up from their seats, the two of them walked over to where their onboard carry on bags had been stored and grabbed them from the attendant there. Really the experience of a first class passenger compared to that of a coach passenger made a lot of difference—although nothing would match her flights as a member of Team USA. Olympics were no joke. They had a private plane and everything for that ride.

Departing from the plane was a simple matter, getting off the plane Kat and her skipped going to the baggage claim, they had shipped everything over here before hand and only had two carry on bags between them. Walking out of their gate and into the Terminal Kim's heart jumped as soon as she saw a splash of red and yellow. Without waiting, she ran forward and jumped straight into Jason's open arms.

"It's so good to see you big brother!" The laughing coming from him couldn't be ignored. Looking up, Kim pouted.

"What's so funny!?" Now that she noticed it, Trini was laughing too. Was something on her? Looking over at Katherine, who shrugged back at her, Kim looked back at her two friends.

"What!"

"Did the two of you seriously have to both take Pink Carry on bags!" Trini, always the yellow, waved up both of her hands as a sign of peace as soon as she said the word, right before she wrapped them around Katherine.

"MY favorite AUSSIE! How've you been Blondie?" Kat laughed at Trini's identifying markers.

"Well, I've been on a plane for the last 14 hours, so now too great, but my day has just gotten a lot better." Switching places with Kat, Kim hugged Trini for what felt like the first time in forever.

"Its bee too long Pinky!"

"Way too long Yeller."

After the hugs and initial pleasantries, Kim and Kat both handed their bags of to Jason. Trini commenting as they did so that, "Red's have all the brawn." And that, "I knew he was useful for something."

Getting to the Red Truck that Jason drove, he dumped their bags in the back, and opened it so that they could all get in.

"So, where are we headed to?"

"You're finally going to get the chance to see my Dojo Kimmie!" She stuck her tongue out at Jason from the back seat. Although Kat sometimes called her that, with her it was a term of endearment. With Jason, the term was used to bring back memories of her pigtail wearing days.

"Seriously Jason, it's our first day back in America, and the thing you want us to do first is go to your Dojo?" Both her and Kat had mock looks of immediate boredom on their faces. She had been dying to see the Dojo that Jason had opened in person—it had been great that he had opened his own business! When he had sent her the first pictures of it, she had literally jumped up and did a small happy dance.

"Yups, we have to drop your stuff off somewhere. Your place won't be ready for another day and so we can't drop you off there. You'll be spending the night with me tonight."

"Why can't we stay at Trini's?"

"Because Kat, I'll be spending the night at Jason's tonight too!" Again, Kat and Kim mimicked each other with mock signs of throwing up and gagging.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep it up Power Pukes, we'll see who's making the gagging sounds in a few days." At Jason's subtle reminder of why they had both come back to America, Kimberly had to fight very hard not to blush. Kat, on the other hand, smiled sweetly back at Jason.

"Green's not your color Jason, why don't you stick to Red?" Kim caught Kat's wink and returned it, while she also noticed Jason rolling his eyes.

"Sure kitty, sure. At least I don't look like I got puked on by a retarded rainbow."

"At least he can pull it off." Trini burst out laughing at Kim's comment, while Jason just focused on driving.

"You should have known better than to try to out sass not one, but TWO former Pinks Jason." Kim watched as Trini rubbed Jason's shoulder, trying to alleviate his pride.

"Yeah, whatever."

"So what else do you guys have planed for today, cause honestly the two of us are starving!"

"Why didn't you two eat on the plane Kim? You had first class seats! A meal was included with your ticket!"

"Have you ever had airplane food Trini? Even the good stuff is horrid." Kim nodded her head in agreement with Kat.

"What are the two of you feeling?"

"Jason, honestly right now I can go for anything, it doesn't matter what it is." At Kat's words, Kim buried her head in her hands and she was sure that Trini was looking for an escape.

"Anything huh?"

"Just help me get some food Red."

"Alright Pink 02, food coming right up."

Kimberly could practically hear the smirk on Jason's lips as he got onto Main Street. As much as she loved Jason, he liked to play games way too much, so when they pulled into the McDonalds drive thru, Kim was glaring daggers at that back of Jason's head. Kat had a slight confused face, before she looked at the menu, and discovered Jason's evil plan.

_"Hi, Welcome to McDonalds—Order when you're ready."_

"Yeah, let me have a #4 with everything on it, a #3 with no Onions," At Trini's sweet smile, Kim had to relent a little. Jason could be so sweet and considerate sometimes; something as simple as knowing the meal she would choose—that was awesome. It was something she missed.

"Oh, and can I get two Happy Meals with the #4 toy please?" And her entire sentimental moment came crashing down.

_"Will that be all sir?"_

"Yup, that'll be it."

Pulling up, both Kim and Kat stuck their tongues out at Jason while he was driving up to the window. Paying for the food, he grabbed the bags, and drove off, but not before digging into both of the Happy Meals and pulling out both of the toys. Throwing them to either one, Kim caught the toy as it came towards her. Looking at it, it was an action figure of the latest Black Ranger.

"There, now the two of you don't have to share him."

Trini died laughing.

* * *

Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been so long! I apologize and I promise it'll never take this long to get a chapter out to you guys again! I don't know if any of you guys are Wheel of Time fans, but the convention for the Wheel of Time, JordanCon , is coming up soon and I'm one of the Directors for the convention, so I've been having to deal with a bunch of last minute stuff from there. As promised, there are som reunions here. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I honestly couldn't justify another 20,000 word chapter! I hope you're able to enjoy this, and I hope that you guys will read and review.

Oh! And just to give you a little heads up, the next chapter in this story is most likely my favorite one so far-it stands right there next to "The Call" for me. I've had the scene that comes in the next chapter in my head for so long now, that I've been itching to write it for the longest time! Next chapter is the first time Haley, Kat and Kim will meet! Oh, and Tommy will make his first ONSCREEN (Words) appearance. So yeah, show me some love for this one though.

Divinitas.


	8. Act I Pt VII

Hey everyone! I'm happy to get this next chapter out. I hope you enjoy it. I took a little bit long with this one for a few reasons. 1.) This chapter means a lot to me. 2.) I really liked a lot of what was in this chapter. And 3.) I've been slammed with JordanCon. Alongside all the writing I've been doing, I've also been doing a lot of legwork for that thing. Also I got some exciting news this past Friday that I may be able to share with you guys, may not be. I don't know. But if I can, I will! I hope you enjoy this Chapter. I loved writing it. If you never leave another review on this story again, please leave one after this chapter. I'm not after an impressive review count. What I want is to honestly know what you guys think of this chapter. Thanks for your time.

_Enjoy_

* * *

_Red Dragon Martial Arts Studio  
Friday, 12:34 PM  
Angel Grove_

"So how has the place been treating you Jason?" Looking over at Kim, Jason smiled while tapping one of the walks of his Dojo. He absolutely loved it here.

"It's been great Kim, my students can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but thanks to Rocky and Adam opening up their place on the boarder with Stone Canyon, the rivalry we have going on between our schools has business booming."

Trini rolled her eyes at the comment Jason made about the "Rivalry" between the two schools.

"Yeah, if you want to call taking the losing team out for pizza—and the losing Sensei's out for drinks after that a 'rivalry'."

Both Kat and Kim laughed at that one.

"It's nice to see that you're so into supporting good sportsmanship. Do you guys ever do any exhibition matches?"

Jason nodded while Trini covered her face and started laughing. Uncontrollably. He was happy she was in a good mood at least. Hopefully she wouldn't mentio—

"What's so funny?"

"Kim, their last exhibition match, they had a vote cast to see what kind of exhibition match it would be!"

"Trini I don't think we nee—"

"Shut up Jason! Go on Trini!"

Adjusting herself, his lovely, beautiful, adoring girlfriend who he did not want to strangle continued on with what was probably one of the worst stories of his life.

"Anyways, they let their students choose the theme of the match. Unsurprisingly, they voted to have their teachers dress up as Power Rangers and have a three way bout." It was Kim and Kat's turn to bust out laughing. Great. He was already getting laughed at and Trini hadn't even gotten to the "good" part of the story yet. Settling in and waiting for the ribbing that was going to come, Jason mentally prepared himself. If nothing else, he could at least be happy Tommy wasn't here to hear this.

"Really? Oh, so it was two Red Rangers and a Black Ranger fighting! That must have been cool!" Jason grunted at Kat, while Trini broke into giggles.

"Actually, not Kat—you see after they got to choose the theme of the fight, the students got to chose the colors of the Ranger outfits they'd be wearing!"

"Trini, please? You don't have to—"

"SHUT UP JASON!" Those two pinks yelling at him in unison. Why did he ever think that being in the same room with not one, but TWO pinks would be a good idea? Worst idea ever.

"ANYWAYS! So they let their students choose the colors they would be wearing, and since his school is in Angel Grove they chose the colors of their favorite Rangers!"

"Oh no, don't tell me!" Kim broke. That was the only way Jason could describe the amount of laughter and pain shown on Kim's face.

"Yup. They chose the Original Green Ranger, The White Ranger, and the White Ninjetti Ranger." By this point even Kat was broken, they were both trying their best to contain it, but it wasn't working out so great.

Through her laughter, Kim managed to get out, "And which on was Jason!"

Trini was smiling evilly.

"Green."

"Please tell me you've got pictures!"

Jason buried his head in his hands. He was never, ever going to live this down. At least he didn't have to suffer alone. Trini ran downstairs and ran back up, a photo album in her hand.

"Luckily, the exhibition match between the schools was a big thing, and so there had been a bunch of people taking pictures. I made sure to gather up as many of those photo's as I possibly could."

"And you blackmail me with those, along with Rocky and Adam, as often as possible."

Trini stuck her tongue out at Jason, shooting back with, "Well, as I recall it got me my first date with you."

Luck that had been pure luck; Jason knew better than to fight this battle without back up though. Rocky and Adam would have been on his side had they been here, but with them not being here, there was no way he was going to even attempt it. Especially not when there was two pinks in the room.

"GIMMI!" Grabbing the album from Trini, Kim and Kat jumped into them immediately.

"Aww come on Jason, you couldn't give us one smile!"

"Oh, you have no idea Kat, we couldn't get any of them to smile—and believe me we did everything we could to get them to. The fight was intense though. Their students were pleased at least."

"Oh man, I can't believe Adam actually got into the White Ranger uniform. How did you guys get these to look so real? I'd swear they were morphed if I didn't know any better." Kim was right though; the costumes they had been wearing had been very, very well done.

"Oh, one of Jason's students older sister is a pretty well known Cosplayer."

At the look of confusion on both Kim and Kat's eyes Jason spoke up.

"Arianna is a big fan of going to conventions and dressing up as characters from her favorite shows or video games. Instead of buying her costumes though, she likes to design and make them herself. When the theme was decided on, all of the students at my school—along with the ones at Rocky and Adam's school begged her to make the Costumes. As it turns out, Arianna is a massive fan of the Angel Grove Power Rangers; when she was younger her favorite Ranger was the Pink Ranger. So she's pretty used to making Power Rangers Costumes."

"She sounds like my kind of girl!" Kat smiled and Trini stuck her tongue out at her. It always grated Trini that the only color she was more popular than was Blue. In order it went: White, Green, Red, Pink, Black, Yellow, Blue. Although any of the original Power Rangers would out sell any of the newer ones, when it came down to a contest between the Original Rangers, Trini always lost out to the others. Except for Billy, but that was still a sore subject for everyone.

"Really, she did a fantastic job on them—did he have to fit you guys or something?" Jason couldn't help it. He blushed.

"Did YOU just blush!"

"You don't know the half of it Kim! Arianna has a hardcore crush on Jason." If there was one time Jason wished he could still teleport it would be now.

"Wait, so if she fitted you…How old is she?"

"Luckily this girl was 19, cause from what Jason's let out, she copped a feel!"

Kim and Kat fell out of their seats and onto their backs. Insolent brats! And he couldn't believe Trini had just let that story out!

"Alright, enough about that!"

"Oh come on Jase, lady killer you! I didn't know you were into robbing the cradle!" Kat got up and back onto the couch, still laughing a little.

"Oh god Trin, I don't think I've laughed this hard since Kat told me about the time Tommy's parents almost caught them in his truck!" Dead silence took over the room. Jason was just staring as Trini's mouth opened, Kat's faced turned red, and Kim put both of her hands over her mouth and had the biggest 'whoops' face that he'd ever seen on her face.

"As interesting as all of that seems, please don't mention it again—the last thing I want to hear about are Tommy's 'Exploits'." The damage was already done though. Knowing that Trini would manage to get them alone at some point, Jason looked down at his phone. It was already about to be 1:20 and Trini hadn't told the girls about the meeting that was arranged for them.

After she had gotten back from Haley's, the two of them had spent as much time with one another as humanly possible. Exhausted, near on drained, he'd barely made it up in time to pick up the two girls from the airport.

Looking at Trini, Jason looked at the clock on his wall and pointed to his watch. The other two didn't catch it, but Trini knew what he meant. Haley had been serious about that meeting with the two of them, and them mentioning Tommy had brought them to the subject that they needed to be on anyways.

"Hey you two, listen up. We know you both just got here and everything, and that you've got to be tired from your flight, but there's something that the two of you are going to have to do before we commence operation "Retire the Falcon"." Looking over at Trini, he motioned for her to take the lead.

"Umm sure guys, what's up?" Both Kat and Kim had slightly confused looks on their faces. Trini repositioned herself in her chair and sat up facing the two of them. Reaching her hand out for the album, Kim handed it to her. After taking one more look and smiling at the pictures, she closed it and set it beside her chair.

"Look, I know this is going to be a weird request, but I need the two of you to understand that this is going to be one of the most necessary things that the two of you are going to do while here." Both of them nodded while Jason watched their expressions. They knew that Trini wasn't joking right now, and so they sat more attentively.

"Do either of you know the name Haley Ziktor?"

"Isn't that the redhead that Tommy went to College with?" Kim said that while turning to Kat for confirmation.

"Yeah, from what I understand the two of them are really good friends. Or am I wrong?" Trini shook her head quickly, and Jason could see the physical release that the two of them partook in. That would have sucked for them, if they had uprooted their entire life only to find out that the man that they had done it for had already moved on and had a relationship. Women.

"No, you're right, Tommy and Haley are friends. And that's exactly the point. Haley, at this point, is Tommy's closest confidant—more so than Jason is these days." The look of surprise in Kim's eyes was something that Jason had been expecting for her to have. Kim understood the exact kind of relationship they Tommy and himself had kept ever since Tommy had joined the team. Jason considered Kim his little sister, and Tommy his brother in arms. The guy he could depend on when no one else could come through. When they were Rangers, it meant that if the team was in some deep shit in a position that even he himself felt overwhelmed at, that he could depend on Tommy to see them through it—even before he had been the leader of the team. Nowadays it meant that even though they weren't Rangers anymore, that he could depend on Tommy to be there. To understand how he was feeling.

It was that Trini wouldn't have been able to do that herself, but Trini had never had to deal with the weight of a team on her shoulders. She had never had to deal with everyone looking to her for answers. And he knew for a fact that she didn't deal with the itch to be back in the game. Sure, she liked to reminisce on how it had been, and what it felt like to be doing the things they did back then, but it was something that she had been able to let go of a lot more easily than he had. Tommy had kept Jason sane, even giving him the chance to become a Ranger again during the moon mission with the other Rangers. At times Jason envied Tommy's latest stint in the Rangers—but he was happy he was out. Being a Ranger again would be great—to serve was the highest honor, but he was finding that he was starting to enjoy his life.

Knowing that bond, the shocked look on Kim's face relayed all of her thoughts to Jason.

"So, what's up? Is there something that we should know about the two of them?" Kat's face was still slightly worried. A woman who could be called even closer to Tommy than himself? Fellow Ranger, first leader, and fellow Red? He could see how that would bother her just as much as Kimberly.

"The thing is that Haley isn't too happy about this whole arrangement, and yes—she does know about _everything_." Both of them winced as Trini said that. The rocky ends to both of their relationships with Tommy were still things that weren't really talked about—with any of them. "Whenever you broke it off with him Kat, Haley was the one he went to. Instead of any of us, he went to Haley, and she was the one who put Tommy back together. It's been like that since then end of your relationship—he's been able to depend on her for anything, and the same could be said of her."

"So, why tell us all of this Trini, just to warn us that she doesn't like the idea of us going after Tommy?"

"No Kim, it's that Haley want's the chance to meet and talk with the two of you. Before you see Tommy again."

The two of them sat still, looking at Trini.

"Why? No offense, but this has nothing to do with her. It's between us and Tommy." Trini brushed her fingers through her hair, exhaling as she did so.

"That's the thing though, it's a package deal. If you take Tommy, you get Haley too. I know it's not what you're used to, but you have to understand this: Haley loves Tommy. She's not IN love with Tommy, but she loves him. And in turn, Tommy loves Haley. It's never been a romantic relationship, but Tommy relies on Haley more than anyone else in his life."

Kim look contemplative, while Kat looked taken aback.

"I know it sounds weird, but you have to understand where Tommy's coming from with this. After you broke up with him Kim, he literally fell right into Kat's arms, cause she was able and willing to be him. Jumping into another relationship from one that had been as close as the two of yours—and one that was equally as close so soon was a bit rash, but he Kat and him were able to work it out. That is until you broke up with him." Trini motioned to where Kat was sitting. They were both taking their licks gracefully, but Jason could tell it still bothered them to hear it spoken about as blunt as Trini was laying it down.

"After that, I guess Tommy went through a time where he felt that a normal life didn't suit him. After all, he was never able to date normal girls due to the fact that his Ranger life caused some serious complications in that area; even before that, before the Rangers, Tommy had been an immensely private person, a lone wolf so to speak. I mean did you ever hear him talk about other friends he had before coming to Angel Grove?"

They both shook their heads no, and Trini continued.

"Exactly. After the two of you, I guess he decided that another relationship was not what he needed. And that's where Haley comes in. She and Tommy are beyond close, when I first met them, I honestly thought that Tommy had found someone who could replace the two of you—I had hoped then that it was possible; it's not what ended up happened though. Tommy and Haley…they depend on each other, count on one another to be there, and basically share every aspect of one of the most beautiful relationships that I've ever seen—aside from the romantically involved part. In Haley Tommy's found the perfect woman, cause she can never and will never hurt him in the way that the two of you have. He's able to be secure in his relationship with her—and she's never left him. Not to mention that he was able to trust her with himself fully, and she hasn't betrayed him there either."

They were silent, unable to speak up. Jason could tell that they were starting to understand though. As much as he hated to have to be apart of this part of their reunion with Tommy, it was needed. He was proud of Haley. He didn't hold anything against these two, but if having to talk to Haley stopped either Kat or Kim, then Jason thought it would be best.

"So understand that when she's asking to talk to you, it's because she would expect Tommy to do the same exact same thing for her. She's never met you before, and all she knows of you—outside of your Ranger history, is the fact that the both of you broke the heart of the man that saved hers." She was trying to convince them to talk to Haley without letting them know about Haley's ultimatum. It was brilliant. If she told them that, all it would do was put their backs up—and although Haley wouldn't mind that one bit, fiery red head that she was, it was really best to avoid a situation where that happened.

"Alright…" Kim sat up and wiped at her face a little. He knew her, he knew his little sister. Although she may not have been his sister by blood, she was his by right. "Alright Trini, when does she want us to meet with her? I can't say that I'm completely happy with this situation, but I'll go along with it if it's what's needed. I'm not going to let something like this get in my way."

Katherine nodded along with Kimberly, and all Jason could do was smile. They were both very impressive women, as impressive as Trini—as impressive as Haley. That was one of the things Jason was able to be happy about; Haley wouldn't have to stand on uneven ground whenever she met these two. And he would count on the two of them to be respectful towards Haley as well.

Getting up, Jason grabbed Trini's keys from the table in the middle of his living room. She had helped design the place and he had to admit that she was fantastic at her job. She'd managed to balance Red and Gold in a way he'd never seen done before. It was really classy to say the least.

Throwing the keys at Kim, she caught them and looked at them.

"Trini's car is already fueled up, and there are directions to Haley's Cyberspace in the Car. Reefside is about an hour to an hour and a half drive depending on the traffic. When you get there the place is going to look like it's closed, just ring the bell; she's already there waiting for you. And go easy on her you two, listen to what she has to say, keep in mind that she mean's a lot to Tommy, a whole lot."

Nodding, the two of them got up, Kat grabbed the keys and they headed for the door without saying anything else.

"Good luck!" Jason smirked as Trini called after them. Kim turned around and smiled at them, same as Kat. At least they were able to get around to it without hesitating.

_Haley's Cyberspace Café  
Friday, 2:40  
Reefside_

The café was quiet right now. The entire place was clean, none of the chairs were out of place, all of the drink machines were spotless, and the floors looked pristine. Outside the sun was out in full effect, so there was nothing keeping any of the teenagers that usually frequented the place away—nothing except for the **CLOSED **sign that Haley only used after hours. In all the time that she'd had the Cyberspace Café open, she'd never had the place closed down when she was here and able to work.

Looking over at the clock, Haley noted the time. Trini had called her about thirty minutes ago to let her know that Katherine and Kimberly were on the way over here and should be here sometime within 10 to 15 minutes of now. Since she'd gotten the, she had been sitting on the couch in the middle of the Café, looking over at the stage and fidgeting with her hands.

It wasn't that she was unsure of what she was about to do; it was that this was something she had never done before. She knew that she didn't know either of the two women that were going to be in her shop she'd never thought to ask about them beyond the Ranger files and their connection to Tommy. Oh, she knew the effect that both of these women had on Tommy, and she knew what he thought of both of them, but she had no idea what to think of them herself.

A part of her hated them. She didn't like that she was able to produce that emotion about two former Rangers—it took a very selfless person to be a Power Ranger, but there it was. What they had both done to Tommy; how they had both left him had always bothered Haley in the extreme. Most of all because she knew the kind of man that Tommy was. Sure, he had a memory that made someone with amnesia wince at times, but aside from that the guy was basically nobility and honor wrapped in a nice little multicolored package.

Getting up from the couch, she turned and walked towards the back counter, not knowing what to do with herself right now. Usually whenever the shop was closed, she spent her time working on some new gadget or gizmo—with the Dino Rangers no longer active it really served no purpose, but it was something to pass the time. Other than that, she would either spend the evenings debugging anything that had gotten onto her computers from all the kids using it, taking care of her accounts—which thanks to Anton she wasn't having to worry about anymore, or she would spend her time reading. On the really bored days she would call Tommy and either go watch a movie with him, watch him train, or they would go hiking in the woods behind his house. How he could stand being so deprived of technology was unknown to her.

Sure, he could make the argument about his basement being a good base of tech, but currently she was still working on that as a side project since Zeltrax had destroyed the work of art that she had turned the place into. Honestly, it had started out as a cave and she had turned it into the most technologically advanced place in all of Reefside.

Shaking her head, she looked at herself in the reflection of one of the mirrors that she had hanging up. Knowing that she was trying to take her mind off of the task at hand, Haley shook her head a little. Honestly she had no game plan on what she was going to do or say when they got here. She just knew she had to meet them; she had to see what these two women were like.

Staring at herself, she went over her features. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, sprayed loosely down her back. She was dressed in a black top, a white shawl covering over it—some black dress slacks made up the entire affair. Oh what was she doing to herself! She'd never been overly worried about her looks today, but without a second thought she reached up and took the ponytail down, letting her naturally wavy hair flourish out.

Looking at her self in the mirror for a little bit longer she covered her eyes with her hands, nearly face palming herself. "Tommy wouldn't be able to stop laughing if he could see me now."

Turning away from the mirror and going into the back where her office was, Haley stepped into her office and sat down at her desk for a moment. She just needed one mome—the sound of the bell for the Cyberspace Rang. They were here.

_Door of Haley's Cyberspace Café  
Friday 2:52PM  
Reefside _

Kim looked over at Kat while she rung the door bell, feeling a little apprehensive about this for the first time since she had learned that she would have to come and talk to this Haley chick. She had only ever known about Haley through here say from the Ranger grapevine, and to all of a sudden be confronting her now about one of the most sensitive subjects anyone could bring up around Kim? It was a little irksome, but it was like she had told Jason back at his Dojo a little over an hour and a half ago; if this was what was needed for her to get her chance at Tommy again, she was willing to do it.

"What do you think she's going to be like?" Kat whispered over, standing in front of the door. Smiling over at her, Kim shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I've only ever heard about this women a few times. And the most I've ever heard about her was what Trini just told her back there. I don't even have any idea of how she looks."

"Worried?"

Not going to lie to her best friend, Kim fired back.

"A little, what about you."

"Pretty much the same."

Sharing a small smile, they both looked over to the door as it opened up. Getting a glimpse inside, Kim looked at the woman standing at the door. Assuming this was Haley, Kim lost to her in the height department—but she basically lost to everyone in the height department so that didn't bother her too much. She had beautiful red hair and great complexion, which meant that even though she was an entrepreneur that she took care of herself. What stood out were Haley's eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue—almost cerulean in their hue—deep and a bit darker than Katherine's eyes.

Staring into them, Kim had to grin a little. Determination mixed with a little…apprehension? Well, it was at least nice to know that the feeling was mutual. One look at her eyes, and Kim was certain that this woman was Haley.

"Hey, I'm Haley—thanks for coming." As she spoke she motioned for the two of them to walk in. Following her in, Kim got her first look at the place. Immediately the thought of Ernie's Juice Bar and Youth Recreational Center came into her head. It wasn't that it looked the same or anything, it was just the entire atmosphere created by the place—it made her think of all the times she had spent there. Smiling at the memory, Kimberly turned around.

"Did Tommy ever tell you that this place reminds of him of a place we used to hang out in called Ernie's Juice bar?" Although she was sure it was unintentional, Haley flashed them the first smile she would see on her face. To say the least, it was stunning, and filled with a measure of pride at her words. That was interesting.

"Thanks. Jason, Trini, and Tommy have told me that. I'm happy that I can recreate some of those memories for them—from what they told me it was a very special place."

Nodding her head, Kim agreed.

"They couldn't be more right, this is a pretty impressive place you've got here. Billy would have been addicted." Kim nodded and smiled at Kat at that comment. She couldn't agree more. What with all the computers and tech around here centered on melding an urban café with a technologically hip Internet café, Billy would have lost his mind in this place.

"Billy, the one of two original Rangers I've never met, not that you're here." Extending her hand, Haley walked towards Kimberly. "I know we already know something about each other, but I think a proper introduction is in order. My name is Haley Ziktor, I'm the owner of this place and I was the technical advisor and Zord technician for the Dino Thunder Rangers."

Well, talk about impressive, as Kimberly reached out to grab her hand, shaking it she responded back. "Kimberly Hart, original Pink, former Olympic Gymnast, and current singer and song writer."

"Anyone I would know?"

"Into the European scene?"

"Only a little, I can't claim to know a lot about it these days, mostly I listened to indie music back when I was an undergraduate with Tommy before going to MIT." Turning to Kat, Haley offered her hand as well.

"Katherine Hilliard, 2nd Pink, Zeo Pink, and 1st Turbo Pink. Aside from that I was a professional ballet dancer back in London, and am a certified teacher here in the States—for both Ballet and English." Huh, Kim had forgotten about Kat's teaching certification here in the States. It'd been so long since either one of them had been back, she wondered if that was still valid.

"So, I'm guessing you're both wondering why I had Trini get the two of you to come over here today…" So, getting straight to it eh? Well, at least the awkward introductions were over. After Haley asked that, she motioned for them to follow her. Leaving the main part of the Café, she led them to an office hidden in the back. When Kim walked in, her eyes drank in the room. All around, Haley's personalized feel was on the room. A legacy banner from MIT hung across the top of her chair on the wall, and under that her degree from there as well. Beside it there was a picture of her in her graduating cap and gown clutching onto Tommy. He looked happy in the picture—and he was staring at Haley with what Kim could only call possessive pride.

In another picture, the two of them were hiking; it looked older than the picture she had from her college graduation. There was another person in the picture as well, some guy she didn't recognize. Obviously he was apart of their group though. They were all staring into the camera, Haley on Tommy's right, and the guy she didn't know on Tommy's left, with bright smiles facing into the camera.

All over the place, Haley had pictures of her and Tommy. Sometimes others were in them, like the one with Her, Trini, Tommy, and Jason standing in front of _Haley's Cyberspace Café _with the annotation, "Opening day" typed underneath it. Beside it, another showed that Tommy had been the first customer that the Cyberspace had, which made the dollar right next to it one that he had spent here. Kim had taken it all in quickly but one picture in particular stood out. On a bookshelf to Kim's right, there was a picture that was much more recent showing Tommy in a clearing with four teenagers she didn't recognize—but they were all wearing familiar colors. Walking up to the picture Kim picked it up, and smiled.

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that if we keep wearing our Ranger colors whenever we're not morphed, it's going to be easy for anyone who knows even the slightest bit about us to discover our secret identity?"

Haley laughed at the comment as she sat down behind her desk and motioned for Kat and Kim to sit in the two chairs in front of the desk. "You really are Jason's sister, he referenced the same thing the first time he saw that picture."

Kim shrugged while handing the picture to Kat. She watched as Kat looked it over and smiled. They were way too easy to spot. The new kids looked like good ones.

"Huh, no pink? And only one female Ranger—this must have been one testosterone driven team. Especially with Tommy being on it." Kim shared in a smile with Kat, and then realized that this was possibly the best opportunity for Haley to start the conversation they were here for. Seeing this office and the picture of the new team had deviated them from what they were really here for. From the look in Haley's eyes though, she hadn't forgotten.

"Yeah, it was an interesting experience to say the least…"

"But I highly doubt talking about our Ranger experiences is why we're here Haley. At least, it's not what Trini led me to believe." Haley nodded as Kim spoke up, took a deep breath, and then launched straight into it.

"So, why are the two of you here then?"

Kim looked at Kat confused for a second, before Kat answered, "Because, Trini told us you wanted to meet with us."

"No, not that, I should have specified; my fault. What I mean is why are the two of you here, back here in America, and specifically why are the two of you moving to Reefside?" Well, way to grind the nail on the head. The way Kim saw it, she could dance around these questions like Kat could across a stage, or she could be as blunt, bold, and daring as Haley was being. She'd take option 2.

"You know just as well as we do. Tommy." Kat nodded in agreement, and for the first time, Kim saw a pointed look in Haley's eyes.

"Yeah, that part I get. What I don't get is why now?" Kim recoiled a little as if she had been hit.

"What do you mean by that?" Kat's claws were about to come out. Kim knew it, by the minutely bristled look Haley had going on she was expecting it, and Kat was already uncomfortable with this entire situation to begin with.

"I mean, why come back for him now? Why not, oh I don't know, when he showed up on my doorstep telling me some blonde had dumped him over a voice message?" Kat flinched at that cheerful reminder.

"Look _Haley_, some things went down that just weren't conductive for a relation—"

"Oh, I heard. No need to explain that part to me." Haley's narrowed eyes pinpointed on Kat, the poor blondes face brightening up—from both anger and embarrassment Kim was sure.

"I'm going to guess Tommy showed you Kat's voice message?" Looking back at Kim, Haley nodded, while continuing on.

"Yeah, I heard that. He also showed me a certain letter that he kept." It was Kim's turn to blush now. She was kind of coming to understand how Kat had felt after that little exchange just now.

"You're just privy to all of Tommy's little black book, aren't you?" Some slight vehemence was starting to slink its way into Kat's voice.

"Well, that's what happens when you're actually there for a person—they tell you things about themselves. You develop a relationship." And she might as well of slapped the both of them.

"So, you're saying that we didn't have relationships with Tommy?"

"No Kimberly, I'm saying you were kids. Teenagers who were forced to grow up very fast due to having the duties of being Rangers thrust onto you."

"And so what, that makes our relationships with Tommy invalid or something? Or is a relationship with someone only valid in those glory filled collegiate days?"

"I don't know Katherine, you tell me? Cause from the way I understand it, it's been about 6 and half years since you've spoken to Tommy, and about a solid 7 years since you have Kimberly. I was under the impression that having any kind of relationship, with anyone required some kind of…_relationship_." Kim was gripping the edges of the armrest on her seat. She was more than a little flustered by now, and her jaw was locked down. She was trying really hard to keep from blowing up on this woman, but this was like being subject to a firing squad.

A silence burst out in between them while that last word simmered. Haley stood up and walked around to the front of her desk, no longer sitting behind it, she was almost right in front of them.

"Let me ask again, why are the two of you here? Honestly, I can't really see a reason—and don't give me that line you fed Jason and Trini; if either one of you had seriously wanted Tommy back you would have been back here way before now." Looking up directly into Haley's eyes, Kim stood up.

"Because he's mine."

That statement hung in the air for a moment before Kat stood up and stared Haley down.

"I made a mistake in the past, I'm here to see if I can fix it. I can understand that you're good friends with Tommy, and honestly if not for this little situation that we're in now, I can see myself liking a person like you—but _you're_ putting yourself in _my_ way. So let me ask you, why are _you_ here." Staring down the both of them, Haley didn't back down. She didn't even flinch. Kim had to give the woman credit. She was currently in a room with two women who had spent a good portion of their lives beating intergalactic invaders into a pulp, and she was holding her ground.

"_Why am I here?_" The look on Haley's face was contorted with anger now; it looked like Kat had managed to push some buttons.

"I'm here to keep two overly confident, and apparently egotistical bimbo's from coming into my best friends life and ruining it all over again. I don't know why the two of you think you have the right to just stroll in here after a little over half a decade and pick Tommy right back up from where you left him. Reality check, you don't."

"It's not like that!"

"Isn't it? Cause that's exactly what this looks like Kimberly—maybe the two of you do love him. Maybe the two of you finally realize the mistake's you made when you dropped him. I'm not overly willing to take that chance though." Kimberly was infuriated by this point, words right now wouldn't be the best thing—and the only thing was keeping her from slapping Haley was the fact that the look in her eyes rivaled the look Kim was seeing in her own, reflected in those blazing cerulean orbs.

"So what is it then, planning on keeping him for yourself? Your own personal failsafe? 'In case of emergency, marry Tommy'"? The slap that followed that statement shocked Kim. A red mark glowed on Kat's cheek as one of her hands came up to touch it. Haley's eyes were fierce—what shocked Kim more though was the fact that Kat hadn't stopped it. True, they hadn't been Rangers for a while, but still—it was probably due more to the fact that it had been completely unexpected.

"Unlike you, Tommy isn't my failsafe, safety net, or last resort! I'd never use him like that, and how dare you even make the reference!" Bringing her hand up to her cheek, Kat looked back at Haley with murder in her eyes.

"Then what exactly is it like Haley? Huh? Using him as your crutch? From what I know about you, you're single and have been for as long as he has. You aren't dating, aren't seeing anyone, and aren't even looking are you? So what is it about us that's really making you lash out like this? Afraid we'll take him away and that you'll actually have to give someone a shot instead of just having Tommy there?" It was Haley's turn to have her ledger full of red. That had been a low blow, even lower than the slap that Haley had launched at Kat.

"Kat…" Kimberly spoke out for the first time, taking a deep breath. Sure, she was pissed off right now. She could imagine very little worse than a complete stranger knowing everything about her past, and about the most important relationship she'd ever been in. What did make this worse was that this complete stranger was apparently attached at the hip with the object of her affection, and not only that, an extremely beautiful woman who wasn't willing to back down or relent in her crusade to protect him. Although it may have been a little out of self-preservation, if Kim were in her shoes she'd be doing the same exact thing.

Motioning for Kat to back off a little, and just taking a breath, Kim looked back over at Haley. "Look, this has gotten a little out of hand. It's a tense subject for all of us and I think that we've all come in here with some preconceived notions about each other that we need to clear, otherwise we're either going to end up screaming our lungs out at each other and saying things we don't mean. That or I can see this turning into a three way bitch fight that'll just end up with us trashing the place, and probably getting at least two of us thrown in jail."

Oh man, She was doing all she could to channel her inner Trini, but right now that task was easier said than done. There was nothing she wanted more than to go barbarian woman on Haley…and oddly enough Kat as well. They all felt possessive of Tommy in one way or another, and letting their emotions get heated like this wasn't good for any of the. The other two women in the room were looking at her, Kat with a slightly confused at furious face, and Haley with a peering gaze—almost a scowl. Oh, and there was that little bit of surprised mixed into both their eyes as well. Did they both have to have such beautifully colored eyes?

Kat was surprisingly the first one to break the silence that had fallen over them; sitting down and regaining her composure, she looked at Haley and tried her best to not looked pissed. "Kim's right, maybe we should take a step back. I think we've gone about this in the wrong way. I know I did at least—I was determined when I came in here to crush the obstacle that was standing between Tommy and me. That was a bad idea, I'm sorry."

Haley took a moment as she closed her eyes and breathed took a breath herself. Kim could tell that she hadn't intended for things to go this route either, but having two inflamed, impassioned Pink's on your hand was a handful—or so she was told. Brushing her hand through that red hair that was as fiery as her temper, Haley opened her eyes and Kim could see that those cerulean orbs were slowly cooling down.

"I'm sorry for slapping you Katherine…" Well, apologies were a good way to start this. Haley stood up and walked behind them, looking out the door of her office and out into the café proper. Kim could tell that the woman obviously wanted to be doing anything other than what she was doing right now—and her heart went out to Haley. It was obvious just how much Haley loved Tommy. Trini was right when she said it wasn't romantic, and Kat had been wrong to accuse her of trying to keep Tommy to herself. This was devotion, a type of dedicated love that Kimberly had rarely seen.

"Haley?" She called out tenuously, her voice reaching just above an echo. The room grew quiet, and her spoken word carried weight over the silence. It seemed to break the diaphanous web of silence that had fallen over them, and as the woman turned around, she didn't speak. Sharing a look for just a second, trying to achieve some kind of connection, it only took Kimberly a moment to find it.

"I don't really know the situation, but I think I owe it to you to explain myself." The mood in the room shifted, to what Kim wasn't sure; she was just going to wing it and speak as clearly as she could—following her heart; no pun intended. Haley walked forward and sat on another one of the chairs not behind her desk, finally putting herself on equal grounding for them. "I'm not here chasing after Tommy like he's some grand prize, or because I can't make it work with anyone else. Sure, I've had a couple of bad relationships—starting when I wrote that Dear John letter, and ending about a month ago. But that's not the reason I'm coming back here and trying to give it another shot—if I'm honest with myself, Tommy is the reason all of those other guys failed."

Looking over at one of the pictures that Haley had al around her office, it looked to be the most recent picture of him. He was dressed in a suit standing outside of Reefside High School, looking out at the sky above. His short cropped spikey hair was a surprise, although she had noticed it earlier—it looked like he'd had it like that for a while now. His look was seemingly content, but while he was looking up at the stars above, Kim knew that she still read him like a book—even if she were looking into a picture. Both of his hands were in his pockets, and he wasn't so much looking as he was gazing—seeing beyond the stars to the times he'd spent off this planet. Maybe his mind was on Edenoi, or perhaps he was thinking about the moon. An idle thought crossed her head wondering what it was like. Either way, the look he presented wanted to seem content, but felt displaced. She could probably accurately guess that this shot had been taken before he knew anyone was watching him—and that they'd gone outside looking for him after he had disappeared from the prom; looking for a moment alone more than likely.

"Each and every time I went out with a new guy, I was more likely than not trying to measure them up to Tommy. And I know why—because he's the standard that I have to measure every guy by now. He left an impacting impression on me that never left. I'll admit, writing him that damn letter was one of my biggest mistakes in life. It cost me more than I ever thought it would; but don't hold me to something that a scared, worried, over stressed, lonely, and jealous 17 year old kid did. I realize it was something stupid to do, and I know that it was the height of being the coward that I had tuned into then to send him a letter instead of at least trying to call him. I'd just like a chance, not at correcting the mistake I made then—the time for that is long passed, but in rebuilding a relationship with the man I've only now realized that I'm so in love with that no one else will do."

Sitting back in her chair, Kim exhaled and looked around at the two of them. Sure, Kat and her had talked about it before, but she'd never voiced it in that way before, although she was sure it was similar to the way Kat felt, as for Haley, a look of understanding appeared in her eyes. Any woman could understand what Kim was going through, either through compassion or experience, laying your heart out bare like that was bound to bring out a result.

"It was never my intention to tell you that you can't attempt to get back together with Tommy; it's his life and ultimately his to live. He's not exactly a person just anyone can handle being with, and honestly with the way he lives his life no ordinary girl could ever manage to be with him. The two of you have to understand that we've been there for each other through a lot now. I was there for him when he had to finally deal with both of you leaving him—not as another set of arms to fall into, but as a friend that he could depend on to be there for him, it's all I've ever really wanted to be for him."

Katherine nodded her head as Haley was speaking, understanding what Haley meant. Kim knew that Tommy didn't immediately jump into Kat's arms when she had ended things between them. Kat hat tried to be there as a friend instead, but she had inexorably been drawn to Tommy in very much the same way that Kim had been. Before that though, she knew that Kat had tried to be more like what Haley was for Tommy now—it hadn't worked. She suspected that a lot of it had to do with her being the Crane after Kim left. The Falcon and the Crane had always been powerfully attached—just like Tommy and she had been.

"I get where you're coming from. When Kim left Tommy, I was there for that aftermath. It was heart wrenching watching him go through that, and what's more, watching him go through that alone. Not only was he taking on the leadership of the Power Rangers, but he also had to deal with his own personal relationships falling apart. Outside of the Rangers, I don't really remember Tommy ever talking to that many people. I guess in the end my heart couldn't resist it and it went out to him. I don't…understand how you were able to resist that draw."

"It was never about resisting it for me…" The look in Haley's eyes took Kim a moment to understand. There was that look of dedication again, of unrelenting and unconditional love—a love that wasn't dependent on romance, but one that was rooted at the heart of her very core.

"At the time Tommy needed me, and so I was there for him—but I wouldn't let him fall into the same trap he kept setting himself up for over and over again. So I never fell in love with him because that was never what he needed from me. He needed a friend that he could depend on, one he could count on to know him and never be biased towards him, never cover anything up or water anything down. A friend he could rely on, and so that's what I became." A fierceness entered into Haley's eyes at that last part at she looked back at them.

"Understand that there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for Tommy. There's nothing that I would deny him, and I would go to any extreme I had to for him. God only knows he's done it for me time and again, without fail." There was something there, something that still wasn't clicking.

"I don't mean to be rude in asking, but why? For me it's because he and I were tied together by fate it seems. I've never been able to escape him, not fully."

Looking towards Kim Haley stood up and walked to the door, but not before she turned back around to face them.

"You should follow me, this is a long story and I've been a rude host so far. Let's grab a drink real quick."

_Table at Haley's Cyberspace Café  
Friday, 3:29 PM  
Reefside_

Haley walked out from behind the counter and back over to where Katherine and Kim were sitting. After she had walked out of the room the other two had followed her out and she had opened up her menu for them. They both chose, oddly enough tea as their drink of choice. It hadn't taken long to make, but it had been just enough time for Haley to calm down a little and breath. Things hadn't exactly gone as she planned—like slapping Katherine, that had not been on her "to do" list for the day. Setting down the rather large mugs that she had bought for the tea, the smiles on both of their faces as they inhaled the jasmine tea made her happy she'd gotten a glass herself.

Honestly the stuff was her personal stash—or that's what it seemed like. Not a lot of teens were into drinking herbal teas, but it seemed like the kind of drink that these two would enjoy. If someone were to look in here and see them sitting down the way they were, would they see a group of women having mugs of tea over what looked to be a pleasant sit down, or would they see the slight strain in between them?

She had to admit, she was surprised at the attempt the two of them were now making at being as civil as possible—before hand things had been very tense and Haley had honestly thought things were going to turn out very bad. Until Kimberly had spoken up—and she was right, Haley was blaming her for something she had done when she was 17 years old. Kira had just turned 18 and was in turmoil over what to do about Trent—they were both leaning towards a strong relationship but Trent looked to be going to the other side of the country—New York, while Kira moved to LA to pursue two completely different careers. What would she decide to do? It was such a similar situation. More than that though, what would Haley have advised her to do whenever she came to ask? She had no clue.

Sitting down with them, they were all now evenly facing one another; the little tale they were at was surrounded by some pretty comfy chairs that Haley had bought with the intention of reading a book in while drinking something in an active place. She didn't know if that's what these chairs were even used for, but Kat and Kim were able to get comfortable, and after a mild thought of 'to hell with it', she herself plopped her feet under her as she sat down.

Taking a sip of her tea and letting it flow through her for a moment, Haley relaxed as much as she could.

"You asked me why, well it's a bit of a story." She didn't like to remember it to be honest, but for these two she was going to have to.

"Do you mind sharing it with us?" She shook her he no at Kat.

"Not at all, but it's really not the best of stories. I've always had a really great I.Q but when it comes to relationships I think I'm worse off than the two of you are." Both of their eyebrows rose at that point.

"It's not exactly a happy story and as involved as I am in it, really, I only heard about everything that happened 2nd hand from Jason after everything was all said and done."

When both of them nodded, the two sitting more at attention that before Haley inhaled, and let it out in a rush.

"Five years ago…"

_Flashback_

_Angel Grove University,  
October 16__th__, 2000  
Thursday, Angel Grove  
7:43PM_

Jason couldn't believe he was sitting in Tommy's apartment right now. It seconded as his dorm room for College, but he still had a hard time believing that he was in _Tommy's_ dorm room. He had honestly thought that Tommy wasn't going to go to college, what with the whole racing thing. It had come as a surprise when he'd told Jason that he'd joined up at AGU with the intention of joining their sciences department. It had seemed completely out of place for Tommy, but Jason had been ecstatic whenever he had told him. The thought of Tommy in the sciences though? It was crazy.

Trini had just gotten back from Overseas again, as an advisor to the peace conferences that still went on. They would still fly her out every now and again to attend and moderate those meetings, she was very good a it. Jason had often wondered if her past in talking people down and having to analyze them is what had maybe got her into chasing down a psychology degree. Either way, when she had gotten back into town the two of them had met up and decided to come pay a surprise visit to Tommy.

When they had both gotten to the apartment that Tommy had told Jason he lived in, they had looked around in surprise. It wasn't anything to be shocked about if a normal person had been staying there, but for Tommy it was shocking—the place looked so collegiate and professional that Jason had do a double take to make sure he was in the right place. Going up to Tommy's door with Trini, they had both been double checking everything to make sure that they were for sure in the right place up until Tommy opened the door.

Standing there as he opened it, Jason just stared while a bright smile plastered on Tommy's face.

"Jason, Trini! What are you guys doing here!" Jason couldn't stop staring. He could see it, but he didn't believe it. He knew Trini was standing there with her mouth open right now and shock, and he was surprised he didn't pass out from his.

"Umm, something wrong guys?" Without any warning Trini stepped forward raised her hand and touched Tommy's hair…which was now in short little stylish spikes instead of the long flowing locks they had all last seen on him.

"It's gone…it's all gone…" Jason, finally out of shock, couldn't help it. It started as a low chuckle in his chest that he was trying to hold in, built up to almost giggles before he couldn't contain it any longer and ended up laughing so hard that he had to hang onto Tommy's door frame to keep himself up. Although he wasn't able to see it due to his own laughing, Jason could hear Trini's laughter as well.

"Oh right, very mature guys." After standing in the doorway, which Tommy had left open and had just walked inside of his place, for a little longer, Jason and Trini walked in together and looked around the place. Little giggles escaping the both of them at random moments.

Sitting down now across from Tommy in his living room on the only couch inside the place, Jason had to say he was a little surprised. He had always envisioned Tommy's place to be a very minimalistic place, not really one for interior design, Jason hadn't thought that Tommy would have spent the time to work on hanging pictures and things of that sort.

"Man, it's good to see you Tommy. Although you almost gave us a heart attack with that hair cut." Chuckling a little Tommy sat back in the chair he'd grabbed from the table he had right beside his kitchen and responded, "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. I get laughed at for the long hair; I get laughed at for the short hair. At least I'm comfortable with it by this point."

"As interesting as the topic of your hair is Tommy, I'm more interested in the girl." At that Jason's head turned towards Trini, confusion popping up immediately.

"What girl?"

"Oh come on Tommy! You want to go into sciences so you can eventually move on to study Paleontology? I can by that. What I refuse to buy is that you decorated this place yourself, or that it was you who arranged everything in such a neat an organized manner. No, this screams, 'I have a secret girlfriend that I haven't told anyone about.'"

And score one for Trini having two X chromosomes. Jason had just chocked this up to 'more weird things Tommy does now due to being a college kid'. He would have never thought to think that he had a secret girlfriend.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Trini." The mood shift in Tommy had been slight, and it didn't take too much to remember that Katherine had broken up with him about six months before this. They hadn't been seeing a lot of each other, and Jason had been busy traveling for his Martial Arts career, but he still remembered driving over here and hanging out with him for the day.

"You mean you don't have a secret girlfriend?"

"If I had any kind of girlfriend I wouldn't keep it secret, what would be the point in that?" Jason saw Trini turn he head sideways and look at Tommy weird for a second.

"Well, I know for a fact that you didn't decorate this place…"

"And how do you know that?"

"Because, there's not enough green, white, or red in here. This is classy, stylish, and screams someone not obsessed with three colors." Check and mate. Again, she had him against the wall on this one. Score another one for Trini. He'd of never thought about the absence of Ranger Color's in decor either. Even in his own place he had a slight problem with Red, gold, a black being a predominate scheme there. His sheets were red, couches black, and he somehow managed to pull off gold in places like his drapes.

Leaning back in his chair, Tommy smiled and laughed at that. "You know, I told her the same exact thing whenever she had me buying stuff for this place. The only room in this house I had any control over was the bedroom, and if you go in there, it's a hodgepodge of nothing but those colors—my own little personal sanctuary."

"So who is she then!" Smiling, Trini jumped up to the edge of the couch excited to hear about Tommy's latest; it was odd though. Tommy always told Jason about any girl he was dating; it wasn't as if keeping things like this secret were a big deal between them. He'd told Tommy the day he and Emily had called it off—it had been mutual, but it had still hurt. Tommy had told him about Katherine too, but he hadn't mentioned any new girl recently.

"Well, first off Trini, she's not my girlfriend. Second off, I'm surprised Jason's never mentioned her before since he's met her once." Jason looked over at Tommy somewhat confused before he turned to look at Trini and shrugged his shoulders.

"Bro, I have no idea who you're talking about."

"Are you kidding me? Last time you were down here you picked me up from her place. Remember? Haley?"

Suddenly it clicked.

"OH! Right, Haley! Red head, great blue eyes, basically a female Billy right?" Tommy nodded his head and sat back.

"So, if she sounds so great, why aren't the two of you going out?"

"Well, first off Haley has a boyfriend. She's dating this frat jerk-off named Mark." Jason did a double take. Did he just hear Tommy of all people call someone a jerk-off? He could help it, he laughed, Trini joining him for it.

"Do I hear that evil Green laugh again, or is it just the green monster this time!" Trini's rib got Tommy to smile just a little.

"No, I'm not jealous, I've just honestly never liked the guy. He's kind of over possessive of her and doesn't like the fact that she and I are friends. He's even tried to convince her to stop talking to me a few times, but it hasn't worked out. She just moved in with him at his frat house abut a month ago, and since then she hasn't been around much. Otherwise the two of you would have probably come in on us studying. She's great at keeping me on track."

Jason nodded in understanding. While he had been over seas at the Peace Conferences he'd ran into girls who were in controlling relationships. He hated to see it cause it usually led to some problems for them later on.

"I get where you're coming from." Trini nodded along with Jason. She had almost ended up in a similar relationship where the guy had tried to be overly controlling of her. Needless to say, whenever he had tried something when she dropped him, Trini left him wishing he'd never heard her name—and probably without the ability to have kids.

"So, what have the two of you been up to? You already know pretty much everything about what I'm doing here, and about the haircut." Smiling at that again, Jason leaned back.

"Well, I'm here for the next month so I can relax from this last tour we went on. Training has been going great and I think that I'll be ready for my third fight here in a little. While I was here, Trini let me know that she was back in town and so the two of us decided to link up and come check what you were up to." Nodding along with that story, Trini lazily sat back into her chair. A slight look in her eyes.

"Something wrong Trin?" Jason stared at her while her eyes just drifted off caught in a memory for a moment before she came to and saw the two of them looking at her.

"Sorry guys…I didn't tell you Jason, but about 4 days ago I went to the place where the Command Center used to be." At Tommy's intake a breath, Jason turned to look at him and could see the memory of his eyes.

"I wasn't able to get all the way there…" Jason held his tongue. He hadn't been back to the command center ever since he had lost the Gold Ranger powers. But he'd heard about what had happened from Tommy. It wasn't something that he had wanted to see. Every now and again the urge to go back there had come over him but every time he did, he could never actually bring himself to go back.

"I should have warned you guys. That place is not a pretty sight for anyone who's been there before. I've only been back three times myself." Jason looked up. He'd been back to the Command Center three times? Jason had no idea how he had managed that.

"What did you go back for?" Looking over at Trini, Jason grabbed her hand from her lap. She was a strong woman, but seeing the ruins of the Command Center was something she had probably not expected, at least not In the ways that she had. When it had blown up, a lot of stuff about the way the landscape looked at gotten to Jason when Tommy had taken him to the Power Chamber beneath. And from what He'd heard down the grape vine, even that was gone now too…along with…

"Whenever the Red Space Ranger Andros asked me to meet him there. At the time I had no idea what was going on. The only reason I was going was due to the fact that T.J, the Ranger I had chosen to replace me as the leader of the Turbo Rangers, had called ahead of time to ask me to meet with him there. Whenever I got there, Andros dropped the news on me that Zordon had sacrificed himself for the Universe…"

Jason felt Trini's hand wrap around his own. He hadn't been there when she'd gotten the news, over seas. Zack had, but it'd been hard on all of them. Whenever Tommy had called and told him, Jason had broken down for the first time. The loss of their mentor had been a lot to take, and to have taken it in solidarity, split up and away from each other? That had been a very hard thing for all of them to do.

Wiping away her eyes, Trini took in a deep breath, taking her hand back from Jason while doing so.

"Yeah, I wish I had known it was like that. I didn't even make it all the way up to see it, I stopped about halfway up the climb, only enough to see the top of the framework." Tommy nodded his head, and Jason knew that the place was probably burned into his memory. The Rangers had been everything to Zordon, and had loved every moment of being on the team. Whenever the leadership had passed to Tommy, Jason had been a little shocked, but mostly he'd been proud of him. Starting as the Ranger who almost destroyed the team, and going to the Ranger who then led the team to complete victory over their enemies, that had been a lot.

"Maybe someday we'll be able to go back, but as for me…it's going to be awhile before I'm able to step there. It's still too fresh though." Jason nodded and let himself sink into the couch. Each one of them probably wanted some time to sped with their own memories. It had been awhile since this may members of the original team had been in the same room—longer still since the original team had been together. Not since Billy had left for Aquitar.

A pounding at the door brought Jason out of his reverie, along with the other two. Again the pounding came before Tommy jumped up from his seat, running to the door with the words, "I'll be right there!" shouted at the door so whoever was pounding could hear.

Getting up and following Tommy to the door, Jason was right on his heels when the door opened. Outside, a guy around their age was at the door, a look of panic was in his eyes, but Jason didn't notice that until afterwards. Hanging onto him was a young woman, she had red hair and…it was Haley.

"What the fuck Paul!" Jason started as the words escaped Tommy. He couldn't blame him though. Looking at Haley, his inner rage was starting to boil. She had a black eye, busted lip, and it looked like someone had backhanded her hard across the face. She was near on doubled over, suggesting that she'd taken a few blows to her mid section, and the only reason she was probably still standing was because most of her weight was on whoever this Paul guy was.

Tommy didn't waste a moment. No sooner than he had opened his door and saw Haley, he had reached for her and lifted her into his arms effortlessly. She readily fell into them and he walked into his apartment back to where the couch was. While Tommy was walking towards the couch, Jason caught a glimpse of Haley's eyes. Confusion, hurt, pain, and worst of all fear stared back at him.

Making it to the couch and setting Haley down on it, Tommy got down on his knees and moved her hair out of her face to get a better look at it. She flinched as his hand moved towards her. Jason didn't miss the fact that Tommy's left hand had clenched into a fist even as hi right hand was moving her hair out of the way to check the full damage.

"Trini, there's a first aid kit in my room's bathroom, first door to your right under the sink." Without questioning, and falling back into a familiar roll, Trini just nodded and went to go grab it, stiffness to her walk. Looking around, Jason saw the Paul guy still standing by the door. He had a worried look in his eyes, and was completely confused on why he was here.

Tommy was quietly speaking with Haley, asking her what had happened, and trying to get her to open up to him, his fingers slightly caressing her face, the gentlest of touches being used due to her bruises. No sooner than it felt that Trini had left the room, she was back with the first aid kit. Motioning for it, Tommy waited for Trini to hand it to him, but didn't argue when she shook her head started getting out the supplies herself. Tommy's left hand was shaking by now and Jason could tell that he was doing everything he could to restrain himself at the moment. Jason didn't have to use too much of his own imagination to figure out how much control that was taking.

Leaving Haley in Trini's care, showing a maximum amount of trust in his friend, Tommy turned around and looked back at the guy standing in his door way still. Walking forward, Jason right on his heels again; Tommy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and walked him outside, pressing him against the other side of the hallway. Closing the door behind him, Jason stood back.

"What the fuck happened!" Tommy was seething, trying to control the sound of his voice, but even at that it was still above the normal conversation tone.

"I dunno Tommy, I swear. I had just walked into the house when I saw Haley at the bottom of the stairs. The other guys were gone and she was just there—I don't know where they are; I remember Brad telling me they were going to be hanging out at Riley's Bar though."

The guy was scared shitless. Jason couldn't blame him. If he had Tommy down his neck the way he was down this guy's neck right now, he would be more than worried. And right now, this guy had both Tommy and himself breathing down his neck right now.

"Did _he_ do this!" Paul looked to the side back at Jason, not liking what he saw; Tommy pushed him up against the wall a little harder than before.

"I asked if he did this Paul!"

"I don't know Tommy, I swear, I don't know! I know they've been fighting a lot lately though. She's been pissed because he keeps trying to stop her from coming over here. She had planned to come over here today. Honestly before I had walked up to the house, I thought the place had been empty! That's all I know man."

Tommy stood there, holding Paul against the wall, looking directly into his eyes. When Paul's eyes flinched away from his, Tommy backed away from him and turned around to go back inside of his house. Paul signed a breath, probably feeling relieved.

"This's been a night." Looking up at Jason, Paul met a wall of stoic rage. Jason was seething. Maybe not as bad as Tommy, but there was something about the fact that his friend was enraged that made him enraged too. They were a team, and he was following his leaders lead once again. "Don't go anywhere."

With that said, Jason walked back inside to where Tommy and the rest of them were. Looking at the sight, Jason could only feel more enraged. Trini was holding Haley as she was slowly loosening up and beginning to come back from the probably shocked state she'd been in. The choked tears and sobs that were coming from her were a hit against Jason's chest. Each one a hammers fall against him. Looking at Tommy, Jason could tell he had reached a breaking point. Walking over to Haley on the couched, Tommy crouched down and tentatively moved a lock of hair away from covering her face. Kissing her forehead he whispered the words, "I'll be back. You'll be safe with Trini, I'd trust her with anything." After Haley nodded her head through everything, Tommy turned around and headed for his front door. Jason stepped out of his way, and followed right back in line.

When they stepped out of the apartment again, Tommy looked right at Paul.

"You're going to take us to Riley's. Now."

"I can't show up there with you! The guys will kill me if," Grabbing him by the collar again, Tommy lifted Paul off the ground this time and slammed him against the wall.

"This is not the time to piss me off Paul, either you're taking me to Riley's, or you get to be the first one." Paul nodded, no questions asked as they began walking to the parking lot. Motion towards his truck, Jason led them to a Red Ford. He'd just gotten this truck. Unlocking it and prompting them all to get in, Tommy grabbed shotgun while Riley jumped in the back.

"Where is it?"

_Riley's Bar North District  
8:22 PM  
Angel Grove_

Tommy jumped out of Jason's truck as they pulled up to Riley's. It figures that fuck would be here. It was a place where a lot of bikers like to come hang out, and where college boys who wanted to tough and edgy would come when they wanted to relax and pretend like they were something. The sneer on his face was not something that he had to fake. Walking to the door of the place, he didn't have to look behind him to know that Jason was right behind him. Paul was lingering behind him a little too, but he didn't care.

Walking through the door, there wasn't a bouncer, Tommy looked around the room real quick before he spotted who he was looking for. On the other side of the bar, a group of Mark's frat brothers were standing around a pool table, laughing and drinking along with some of the local bikers. Mostly younger guys.

Motioning to them with his head, He and Jason walked forward. He could feel the amount of strain he was putting on himself when he walked forward, he didn't care though. As he reached the table everyone shut up when he walked up.

"Hey Tommy, here to play a few games with us?" There were 10 of them here. That mean 5 were missing, including Mark. Add in the bikers and that made for a solid crew of about 15. Good.

"Fuck you Brad, where's Mark?" The cool smiles they all wore while they stood a little taller at his antagonizing behavior didn't scare him. Didn't even make him flinch, he'd faced down things that these guy shad spent their time running away from.

"No clue _Tommy_, Why don't you ask Haley?" The smirk on his face meant he knew what had happened. Knew it, and apparently had no problem with it. Without wanting to waste anymore time, Tommy took a step forward only to be blocked by one of the bikers and one of the frat boys.

"Maybe you should take a walk kid, save yourself some trouble." The biker looked into his eyes, trying to intimidate him. Tommy stared straight back. Whatever the biker saw nearly caused him to flinch. He didn't know what was in his own eyes at the moment, but the way he felt, he was sure Rita's Evil Green Ranger had nothing on this Tommy.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to tell me where Mark is."

"Or what Tommy? There are 15 of us here, what are you going to do?"

"Five." Without waiting for anything else, Tommy jumped up and let his adrenaline take over. Bringing his arm back and striking quicker than either of the two in front of him could see it took one solid punch to knock the biker out cold. He could tell looking down that he'd also broken the bikers nose in the process. A pin could have fallen when the biker fell and hit the ground for a moment there, and the sound would have echoed. It only lasted a moment though.

No sooner than everyone was over the fact that he'd just laid out a guy about a hundred pounds heavier than him, the commotion started. All of them stood up and decided to charge at him, all at once. Idiots. Watching at they came forward, Tommy round housed the second biker to get in his way today. Used to fighting aliens and supernatural entities for most of his teenaged years, Tommy had no panic reflex. He shifted from calm to battle ready in an instant, an he had never once let up on his training, even after he had stopped being a Power Ranger, and so his strikes were fast, above even an advanced masters strikes, above normal human capabilities. Looking to his left, he could see that Jason had jumped into the fight as well. Two of the frat guys were already out—one on the ground, and another looked like he'd bee thrown into a wall and landed on the bar.

Turning back to what he was doing, Tommy walked forward while some of the other idiots decided to try to fight against him. He wasn't going to waste time being pleasant; he'd given them the chance for that already. Charging forward, Tommy dropped another one with an elbow to the face—he wasn't too sure but he thought he felt teeth break off in the guys face. No sooner than he was done with that one, he turned around and grabbed the one charging at him. Pushing him after moving out of the way, he let the moron who'd probably never been in a fight run head first into the wall. Not his problem today. Looking around, he saw Brad trying to maneuver his way out to the bar. The other people in it were a mass of chaos as they were trying to get out.

Seeing Brad try to run, Tommy ran after him. Another one of the bikers tried to get in his way. Tommy didn't even stop moving as he grabbed his head with both hands and kneed him straight in the face. Mostly likely he had just broken another guys nose. Badly. Not bothering to stop and think about it, he caught up with Brad just as he was getting into his car. Stopping the door from shutting and ripping Brad out of the Car, Tommy brought back his fist to start in on him before Brad shouted out, "He's at the house man! He'd just gone back with some girl and a few of the other guys about 15 minutes before you got here!"

Starring at him, Tommy exhaled deeply before throwing him on the ground and walking back towards the bar. Jason was just getting out, his friend looking around to see if there were anymore. Looking at Tommy, Jason raised one of his eyebrows and gestured at Brad before Tommy nodded yes and they both jumped in his truck.

This night was far from over.

_AAP Fraternity House  
8:48PM  
Angel Grove University Ground  
Angel Grove_

Jason calmed his breathing as he pulled up to the frat house. He could tell that the people they were looking for were inside without a doubt. Music was playing, and it seemed like there was a mini party going on here. On the outside it looked like your everyday Frat Party. Well, by the way Tommy was looking at the place. The part was over.

Flexing his hands once, Jason closed them as he got off the truck and followed Tommy to the house. He hadn't expected to end up beating the shit out of some frat boys and bikers at a bar on this visit, but it'd happened. It had been nice seeing Tommy fight again as well. It'd been awhile since he'd seen that, and in retirement he had been worried that Tommy had gone soft. When in the hell did the man find the time to get _better_? Jason would never know, but the guys grace, swift attacks, strength, agility, and control were amazing. He'd shifted in that fight better than any opponent Jason had fought in a long time.

Reaching the front door, Tommy didn't even bother knocking on the door before he kicked it in.

"What the fuck Oliver!" One of the frat guys in the house stood up as Tommy walked in. He didn't even look tired from the fight before, then again he'd been dispatching guys with one hit the entire fight.

"Shut up Kyle, where's Mark?"

"Fuck you Tommy, I'm not telling you shit. And you're paying for that doo—" Kyle didn't get another word out before Tommy's fist collided with his face. It had been a bad idea to walk forward to Tommy with the intention of Trash talking. Jason couldn't stand guys who did that. It was so annoying, either you were going to fight or you weren't. No sooner than Tommy punched out the first frat guy, the other three got up from what they were doing and charged. Jason stepped in and kicked one of them straight in the chest while he was running toward him. He fell instantly, clutching his side and screaming, which caused a door up the stairs to open, and a guy Jason didn't know to look down at what was going on.

As soon as Tommy saw him, he ran up the stairs after him. One of the frat guys tried to follow him, but Jason grabbed him by the back collar of his shirt and pulled him back and down all the way to the ground.

"Why don't you just stay with me, my friends got some unfinished business with your boy up there." Jason looked around for the other Frat guy he'd seen, but seeing as how he wasn't coming, the coward had probably ran off.

Some commotion upstairs caught his attention, along with a girl screaming. Jason raced up the stares, hearing another door get busted in before he finally made it to the room at the end of the hall. Inside, Tommy had already taken who he assumed Mark was to the ground and started in on him.

"You shit, what kind of man hits a woman!" Six quick hits to his robs were followed by three to his face as Tommy kept going.

"I should beat the fuck out of you and hang you by you nonexistent balls outside you fucking dick!" As Tommy brought his hand back one more time, Jason quickly stepped in a grabbed it before Tommy could bring it down again. Tommy turned and looked Jason in the eyes. Slowly shaking his head no, Jason gestured to the individual under Tommy. He was already severely beaten, and if Jason knew anything, most likely had a broken jaw. That was going to hurt. Taking a deep breath, Tommy got up and backed off from him. Looking down at the guy who was started to come to a little Tommy leaned down and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I swear to god that if you EVER come near Haley again, I will make sure you never walk again. And I promise you, I never, ever go back on my word." Punching him one last time to knock him out again before Jason could stop him, Tommy stepped back and turned to Jason.

"Thanks." With a slight nod, Jason acknowledged the thanks. It had been an interesting night to say the least.

_Tommy's Apartment  
9:22 PM_

Haley wrapped her feet up under her, wincing slightly at the pain that shot up her side. Even the wince hurt. She had no idea how thing shad turned out like this, One moment her and Mark had bee arguing, the next he had lashed out at her…and just continued to until he stopped. Hiding her face in her arms laying against the armrest on Tommy's chair, she sat there thinking about how stupid she had been. Why hadn't she seen this in Mark before? Or had she seen it, and just ignored it? She wasn't entirely sure—one thing was for sure though. She would never doubt Tommy's gut instinct for when someone was trouble ever again.

Looking around the apartment, she could see that he had ben managing to keep the place clean. That was good at least. It'd been about four days since she had last been here, which was weird for her because she normally stopped by more than once a day. Looking over to the kitchen, the woman who had been here, she had found out her name was Trini, was making some Coffee. It was odd of Haley to note that the only thing that went through her mind at that point was the fact that Tommy had remembered to go and buy more coffee.

As Trini walked back over towards where Haley was, a tray with not only coffee, but sugar and creamer in it too, she set it down in front of her before asking her that classic question. "How do you take your coffee?"

"2 sugar 1 cream." Nodding Trini fixed her up a cup. Just as she was bringing it to her lips to take a drink, being carefully to avoid the busted part of he mouth, the door opened to reveal Tommy coming in backwards carrying a box. Right behind him carrying another box was Jason. Not even stopping before he went into the spare bedroom he had in his apartment, he set the boxes in there before coming back out and walking back over to her.

"Hey, I brought your stuff over here. You're staying with me now." It was both an invitation and a demand and it was one that Haley was more than happy to accept. Smiling up at him as best she could, she took a small sip from the coffee that Trini had made for her. Who were these fantastic people that Tommy had as friends? And why had they just listened to him whenever he asked them to do things? The Tommy that she knew was not a very social person, but here he was with two people who he looked completely at home with. What's more, they were individuals he obviously respected. Jason, she could understand, but Trini? She had heard about some names in passing, like Katherine Hilliard and Kimberly Hart, but the more she got to know about Tommy Oliver, the more of an enigma he became.

Looking at his hands, she could see that they were red. Stealing a glance at Jason's hands, she could see the same thing there. Looking at the rest of him though, there wasn't anything wrong with him, other than the fact that he may have been a little disheveled—but so was Jason. What had they done?

"Thanks Tommy…"

Crouching down to her level on the couch, he looked at her eye level and said, "You don't have to thank me Haley. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

It didn't take long. At some point, Trini had managed to grab the cup she had been using to drink coffee and save it from falling; it was a good thing too. As soon as Tommy told her that, she broke down, really broke down for the first time, Tommy's arms wrapping around her and just being there for her.

She knew that was all he wanted, to be her shoulder at the moment. Releasing everything, Tommy stayed the entire time until she didn't remember anything else about that night.

_End Flashback_

Katherine and Kim were staring at her. She could feel their eyes on her. She knew this reaction would happen. It had taken her forever to get Trini to stop treating her like glass, and she didn't want that to happen with these two. She would not let one single event define her life and live with another's pity. She had kept one thing from that night, and that was the growing bond that could not be broken with Tommy. She had never given it up, or traded it in for something else. So maybe she was being just a little biased and jaded with them on their front. How many times had he saved their lives while they were Rangers? Remembering back on it, she thought about the way that Kat joined the team. What had almost happened to Kimberly…

"I didn't find out what Tommy and Jason had done until about a week later. I was in class and someone had asked me if it was true or not. I've never asked Tommy about it—I did ask Jason, it took me awhile to, but I did ask him. He told me everything."

They nodded at her and sat up a little. She could tell they both wanted to say something, but they could tell that she didn't want them to. Huh, that was unique. Even with Trini, she had to convince the woman the she didn't need to be comforted. The she remembered something Tommy had told her once regarding the Rangers. _"Honestly Haley, Pink Rangers are unique. They're the hearts of the team. They hold a team together better than anything else can, and they can understand the heart of a problem in a very unique way. Much the same way that Red's are usually leaders, and Yellow's logical. I don't know if the colors draw a specific person to them, or if it's just completely random, but from what I know of it this seems to be the way it works." _

He had told her that when the Dino Thunder Rangers had been having unity problems. He had ruffled off that he'd wished they had a pink. She smiled at the though, and then in course at the two women sitting with her. So, they were near on empathic. That was something that she wasn't used to.

"So that's basically everything." She had just peeled herself raw in front of these women. It had been hard, but it had also been fair. They hadn't had the chance for her to ask them about their history with Tommy, she had just been experienced the end result and had judged from there. She had assumed that Pinks would be like Trini, but there was just something about these two that made her…want to love them. For Christ sake, Kim's last name was Hart!

That wasn't even mentioning the way the two of them looked. How in the hell had Tommy even pulled either one of these girls? Kat was a walking assault to any woman's ego, and Kim…there was something about her. The way she smiled, the way she talked, her ferocity, a quite contemplation, and Kim in general that Haley couldn't quite put her finger on. Although the word rang through her head as soon as she figured out what she was. She would never dare say it out loud, not to her anyways, due to the fact that she assumed there was only one person who could honestly call her that.

_Beautiful._

"Thanks for telling us…we're sorry if we brought up any bad memories." Katherine put her glass down, obviously finished with the contents inside. She was surprised at how long it had taken her to tell that little bit of history. Already the sun was almost completely set and it would be full on nighttime soon. She could tell the two of them were exhausted—she had made them come here after a very long flight, but they had still come, and even thought things had been tense before, they weren't so much now.

"You're fine, I threw your past in your faces—it's only right that I should do the same to myself. Look, I'm sorry for the way I've acted this entire time, and I'm sorry for making the two of you come out here almost as soon as you got here. I just needed to know that the two of you weren't out on some ego trip to get Tommy back as a contest between you."

They smiled at her as she spoke. Taking time to study them, they _were_ tired; Haley could see it in their eyes. And they had probably been holding back yawns the entire time. It was about to be dinner time, and she had no idea what time it would be for them—but if one of them was going to end up in Tommy's life—was she really that accepting of it? Either way, if one of them was going to end up in Tommy's life, she may as well start learning to live with it.

"It's fine Haley, we completely understand." It was rare when someone said that, and did actually understand. She was surprised that these two could understand her so easily. Then again, it came with the job so far as they were concerned. However, Kim didn't bother hiding her emotions behind a wall, and when she had spoken it had bee completely honest. In both of their eyes Haley could see that they both genuinely loved Tommy. But so did she.

"There's just one thing I need the two of you to understand," This would be the last time she would bring up discord between them. For Tommy, she would do her absolute best to befriend these two women, and she would do her best to support the one she viewed as worthy of Tommy, but they had to know—like she told Trini, it hadn't been a ploy.

"I love Tommy, hidden past, terrible memory and all. Like I said before, there isn't a thing I wouldn't do for him, and that does include putting him in a very uncomfortable position where he's finally cornered into choosing one of the great loves of his life. But I _need_ you two to understand something. If he comes to me for a way out, if he seriously, honestly wants a way out, I'll give him one."

Breathing in, she looked in their eyes as she said this. "I didn't understand what Trini said before about the two of you—I'd never met you and I had no perspective about you other than as the two girls who broke Tommy's heart. I realize now though that I had a one sided view of the both of you, and I'm sorry for that. Tommy needs one of you. I don't know which one of you it is, and I'm pretty sure we won't know that until the deed is done. I don't know why it's one of the two of you—it may very well be that you are attached by fate in some obscure way that I don't understand. All I know is that he needs one of you,"

They looked at her for a moment; the truth of what she was saying was in their eyes. She was surprised to find that a tiny bit of jealousy sprang up at that. She would squish it.

"But he can settle for me." And understanding lit in both of their eyes when she said it. She was threatening them, and they knew she wasn't. What's more, there was a newfound hint of respect in their eyes as well. If they botched things up, they knew she would take his heart, one that nothing would be able to heal if this didn't work out, and keep it. Haley could have only part of his heart—she could love a broken Tommy, not that either of them couldn't—but they were both the objects that could make it whole, or the objects that could break it. It only took one of them to make it whole, but it would take both to break it. Their nod at Haley, along with a small smile from Kat let her know that she had said just the right thing to solidify a friendship with them.

It would be rocky, testy, and probably extremely hard work on both sides, but if Kat and Kim could become best friends, then Haley could easily be added into that duo to make it a trio. After all, they were the women of Tommy's life.

"Are the two of you hungry? I know this great spot; it's usually dead on Thursday nights. Great food, cheap drinks, and open late." Prompting them, the both smiled as they got up.

"Haley, I think we're going to get along just fine." She smiled as she walked out of the door with Kat and Kim.

_Triforia  
Unknown Rebel Faction  
Outskirts of the Badlands_

Trey looked out and watched as the rebel factions ran. Grumm's forces had tried again with this lot, but he had made quick work of them. It had been an on going campaign against his rule here on Triforia—instead of outright invasion, Grumm had gotten smart and considered usurpation and revolution. Finding small, dissatisfied factions, Grumm had managed to pollute his kingdom with traitors who would rather sell their own planet than live under the rule of another. How people could be such fools he would never know.

The power surged through him as he jumped from the cliff he stood on, doing a single rotation in the air to correct his landing point. On grounding, he let most of the force dissipate by kneeling down and steadying out his body with on arm to the side, the Golden Power Staff in that arm. As powerful as the Gold Powers were, knowing how to use them, and their proper application was a delicate thing. That Jason of Earth had done such a fantastic job at managing them while they had been with him was a testament to Zordon's judgment, one that Trey still trusted to this day.

He couldn't see him, not at the moment. The battlefield was still too chaotic for him to be able to latch onto him yet, but he was sure he would be able to discern him soon. The Phantom Ranger had been such an aid to Triforia in these trying times. And before that to the Cimmerian planets that had been denying Grumm. If not for his efforts, Triforia would have been caught unaware of Grumm's intention and would have suffered heavy casualties—as the Cimmerians had. Phantom Ranger had made sure to get the key members of their planets to safety before he himself had ever left their system. If not for his efforts, the Cimmerian council, along with countless others would have been lost, and for the first time since Zordon, another part of the _Council of Meledon_ as well.

There he was. Flames licked at his suit as he appeared. The noble Ranger suffered very little damage to himself this time around; or so it appeared. While walking forward, Phantom Ranger fell forward on his hands and knees. Worried, Trey rushed forward, immediately his hand going to the power reciprocals on his Golden Power Staff and fueling the Power Ruby that sustained the Phantom Ranger.

"You give too much of yourself my friend. I can ask no more of you than what you've already done." The Phantom Ranger remained silent, his fatigue washing away. Trey had often told him that he had given too much of himself. Not many knew the Phantom, he didn't allow himself to be seen if he could help it, but his active fight in service of the great council was something that Trey admired. He was ever the stalwart warrior.

_"I fear I have not given enough Lord of Triforia."_

"Please Phantom Ranger, I've often asked that you not stand on ceremony with me. You've done more than enough for me and Triforia, I cannot permit you to ever stand on ceremony with me."

_"I'm sorry Trey. It's been a long…day."_

The confusion was understood. I had actually been a long month, so far as his reckoning was concerned. The Phantom Ranger had decided to help Trey out by scouting ahead and getting precise movement details and exact coordinates of vital supplies, while also mapping the escape routes so that none of these traitors made it out to start anew. Against Trey's wish's he had even fought in the main battle for this victory—it wasn't that Trey felt him inadequate, but to waste himself away when others could fight?

"I understand, let's return to the capitol." Lifting the Phantom Ranger up, Trey called Pryamidas to him. Returning inside of Pryamidas, the beacon that a message was awaiting him was lit. As he sat the Phantom Ranger down to rest, for which he thanked him, Trey played the recorded message. A hologram from Aquitar appeared of Aurico. Odd, what did Aurico want with him.

_"Hello, I am Aurico. If anyone who see's this message knows a William Cranston, also known as Billy—an earthling who was a fellow resident of Aquitar, please let him know that those he left behind are now in search of him. Let him know that it is time he returned home. In a few earthen based weeks an event will occur that requires his return, a reunion with those who have lived without him for so long. Please, get this message to him. They worry and await your return." _Trey turned to look at the Phantom Ranger. He was starring at the Hologram long and hard, before finally he spoke.

_"We need to go to Earth…" _

Nodding, Trey headed for the Capitol. It would take some arranging, but Trey was sure he could pull it off. Somehow.

* * *

And there you have it folks. The end of this Chapter. A lot happened and I know there's a lot to take in. I hope you enjoyed the Tommy screen time. I know, it was a cheap trick, but hey he was on screen! I promise you that the next time you'll get to see Tommy present and accounted for within the current continuum of the story. And yes, next chapter is where the first meet ups happen. ;) You know what I mean. Also, I'm going to start incorporating a lot of the other characters in this franchise in the story. There's an explanation for this on my profile so hop over there sometime to see why.

Please, please read and Review After this one. It would mean a lot.

Until the Next Chapter,

Divinitas Intereo


	9. Act I pt VIII

****Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this one up! I didn't forget about it or anything! I've just been super busy with everything I've been doing that I just didn't have the time to get to this. I've written another long one this time; hopefully you guys enjoy it!

By the way, JASON DAVID FRANK IS BACK IN SPANDEX! How awesome is that? If you haven't already done so, be sure to like his facebook page. Make sure it says Official Jason David Frank Fan Page. You'll get a lot of awesome news, and even a chance to maybe win a phone call from him. Anyways, enough of that. Here's the next chapter hopefully all of you like it enough to leave me some reviews.

* * *

**Act I Pt VIII**

****_Charlie's Pub & Grub  
Friday, 7:45 PM  
Reefside_

"So you mean to tell me that the haircut was the result of a lost bet!" Kat couldn't believe it! He had cut his hair over a lost bet? She would have never thought something as silly as that would have forced Tommy to cut his hair! He had been more attached to his hair than any male rightly should have been allowed to be! The shock was almost too much.

"No lie Pinky," Taking another swig from her beer and grabbing another one of the onion rings in the middle of the massive assortments of appetizers that they had ordered, Haley shoved one into her mouth and crunched it up before continuing. "After what had to be the millionth princess joke, and bleaching the lower half of it blonde while he slept, I think he was looking for an honest excuse to cut it."

Kat eyed Haley with a newfound respect. It was absolutely amazing what a few hours of talking, one bitch-fest, six beers, and two shots could do to the camaraderie between girls. They had been here now for a solid hour and a half now. First they had been at the bar, but after noticing that their stomachs were growling, and since they were in drinking moods, it made sense to get something in their stomachs. They had ordered almost every appetizer on the menu, each one deciding to collectively share a meal of the things instead of ordering separate dishes.

"I'm in complete shock. You bleached his hair? Honestly, how pissed was he?" Kim was smiling, and Kat knew she couldn't help it. Outside of being the shortest of the group, Kat had discovered after moving in with her that she was also one of the biggest pranksters, outside of Jason and Tommy—and apparently Zack only trumped the two of them.

"Kept screaming something about looking like Andros—that famous Red Space Ranger." Kat about died laughing. Comparing Tommy to Andros was something that had gone on in her head when she had seen the Space Rangers unmasked on live T.V even in London—That event had been broadcast everywhere, and even though it had been something she couldn't take her eyes off of, it had almost been too horrible to watch. But the thought that Tommy had gone in fanatics because he might have resembled Andros? It was too much.

"You are absolutely evil Haley!"

"It comes with having known him for as long as I have. He can be just as evil at times too—I hear he had one hell of a hard time with that back in his single color days." Kim and Kat both nodded, and then looked between the two of them.

"Met him during the worst of it all in the early Green days. I gotta admit though, the bad boy thing had me kinda hot." Kim smirked, winking at Kat.

"I know exactly what you mean Kim, when King Mondo brainwashed him for a little into believing we were all evil, I have to admit I thought a little on what a…domineering relationship like that would be like." Something, honestly about bad boys would always be a turn on. Kat didn't know why, but she'd dated enough of the shits to know that this was true.

"Well my dear Pinks, your bad boy has become a high school science teacher with a Phd." Both Kat and Kim shared a humorous look at that. Kat has always expected Tommy to open up a dojo, or travel around the world studying martial arts or something. She had honestly never seen him becoming something completely unrelated to martial arts.

"I'm surprised he was able to remember the questions for the text. Either he's always been this good at studying, or those study games we used to play really did get him interested in getting answers right." Kat looked over at Kim as she was playing with a potato wedge.

"Study games?" Kim hadn't bought that up yet, and even Haley looked interested in this one.

"Forget about it, it's not even enough to be covered under our rule."

"What rule?" Turning to Haley Kat winked.

"Kitty and I both promised that since we're both going to be doing this that we'd have to be completely open with one another if we wanted to keep things civil between the two of us. So we formed the rule that any Tommy memories we have belong to both of us, and we dished them to each other. Up until last week, outside of a few comments we'd made over the years, we'd never talked about our individual experiences."

Taking a swig from her beer, Haley sat it down and grabbed another onion ring. Munching it while thinking that over, she smirked.

"So, study games then?" Looking at Haley, Kim stared back at Kat. Kat gave a little nod indicating that the rule might as well be extended to Haley, an unknown but now welcome addition into their pact apparently.

"Alright, so back when we were in High School, Tommy went through a bit of a phase where he started failing. Because of this, he ended up having to stay late after school a couple of times. The end result? We got our asses handed to us more than a few times during monster attacks. I was completely fed up with having to wait for him to finish remedial lessons in order for him to save the world, and all of us were determined to find a way to help him remember what he learned in class that day. So with a little help from Trini, and oddly enough my mother, I devised study sessions for Tommy that I named, The Study Games."

"Keep going Kimmie, you've given us the reason for the games, now tell us what they were." The slightly agitated look on Kim's face was classic, and Kat absolutely reveled in it. Haley was obviously enjoying this too. Smiling too sweetly at the both of them, Kim continued.

"Well, at first Tommy was extremely hesitant to ever make it to one of the study sessions that I would plan for him. Either he was always too busy teaching at Earnie's place, or some emergency with his parents would come up. I have to admit, I was getting more and more pissed each time. Sure, the first time he bailed on it, I was kind of relieved. I had been so nervous waiting for him to show up so we could get started, and was blushing every time I looked at the clock, that when he called and didn't show up, I was relieved—I didn't get pissed at being stood up until later on that night." Taking a sip from her beer, the original pink continued on.

"Anyways, I finally managed to convince him to make one, promising it would only last thirty minutes. Not a minute more, unless he wanted to continue. Needless to say, I'd cut off every other route before telling him that. I'd already called Ernie, his parents, and the rest of the team to let them know that Tommy was going to be off limits that night. I'd also gone to some lengths to make sure that my mom was out of the house, and my brother was staying with my dad, so everything was covered. When he showed up and came down to my basement, I'd left a note on the door with instructions, he walked down the stairs all prepared to study; since he was ready and willing he gained the first point in the game—which was a kiss from me with my shirt unbuttoned and in a shirt school girl miniskirt wearing a teachers lab coat."

Even though the memory had to be ancient, and she'd probably done much kinkier things since, Kat couldn't help but notice the blush that entered Kim's cheeks.

"You played a stripping game with him!" Kim's blush grew deeper as Kat assaulted her. It was absolutely diabolical. Suddenly a few memories of when she'd asked Tommy if he'd wanted to study cam back to her. She'd always wondered why he'd blushed. Plus, it seemed so…cute for lack of a better term. That was probably the first time Kim had ever used her sensuality and sexuality in such a forceful way.

"Uhh, yeah."

"Well, that's adorable. How'd you resist taking the plunge?"

"I'm with Haley on this one Kim, how was he still a virgin when I got to him?"

At this Kim couldn't help but smirk.

"Sadly for Mr. Oliver—and for myself in retrospect, he never managed to remember everything from class, and never managed to get every question right. And I'm pretty sure he was really trying there at the end. I have a really good memory of him beating down a monster in record time trying to remember the subjects of the day. He kept on muttering about, "Making me forget" every time he charged at it. I have to admit, everyone else had no idea what was going on—except for Trini, and she couldn't help but laugh at both of us about that."

At the mention that Tommy's memory was what kept him from Kim, Kat and Haley started laughing, their laughter only increasing as she had continued speaking.

"That's too rich! To think, the only thing that kept him from his biggest teenage wet dream was the fact that he had terrible memory!" Haley lost as she leaned back in her chair laugh, and Kat was doubled over, trying to hold the beer she had drank when Kim told her in.

After gaining control of herself, and taking a few breaths, Kat looked up at Kimberly, still attempting to regain her composure.

"So, how close did he get?"

Kim's complete blush caught Kat completely off guard.

"He managed to get me down to my lingerie about 5 times, and outta my top and sitting with one of his knees between my legs once." At that Kim faded into lala land as her mind clearly took her back to those times. Kat internally cursed herself that she had never thought about that. She could have played one hell of a sexy teacher.

"Well, bravo to you Kim, do you remember the subject?" Leave it to Haley to ask the best question!

Kim laughed as she came out her reverie, "Oh yeah, and it should be easy for you to guess—a paleontologist had come to visit the school that week and Tommy had been completely absorbed. Honestly, I thought he was going to win the game that time."

"Too bad for him, all his blood was probably in his other head by that point." Clinking her bottle with Haley's for that brilliant insight, Kat finished off her beer as she reached for the last of their appetizers.

"You know, I should have given him a cancelation prize at least one of those times. I mean it must have been torture on him when I laid down the rules of 'look, but don't touch.' Honestly, I've done some crazy kinky shit since then, but that was so deliciously voyeuristic! Especially since it was Tommy, I've gotta count it among some of the best four play ever."

"Well, it's a no brainer why he always claims that blue balls are the second worst thing a woman can give a man." Both Kat and Kim looked at Haley.

"What?"

"How'd you get that out of him?" Kat was honestly curious.

"Are you kidding me? I've been his gal pal since College, and back then he had a swarm of girls offer to do things for him that he'd probably never even heard of." Looking over at Kat, she smiled.

"You should have been more experimental with him." Kat couldn't help blush.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Kim's curiosity was, and Kat knew why. She and Tommy hadn't really known what the hell they were doing. They just went with what was right, and so they had missed the opportunity to try things with one another outside of just sex.

"Apparently, even though Kat here took his v card, you were more experimental with him Kim."

Kim looked between the two.

"So since Kat and myself, he hasn't had a girl, or been with any other girl?"

"Spot on Kimberly. Aside from getting laid by Kat here, he's never done anything else."

"You're completely sure about that?"

Raising an eye at Kimberly, Haley smirked as she swigged off the last of her beer.

"To my knowledge, the guy is still terrible with women. Sure, he looks like the kind of guy that women want to eat off of, but aside from a few forceful women that I had to get rid of, he's never been with another one long enough to try anything—and I've seen him stammer when they offered to get a little kinky with him. A good girl Tommy can deal with, a Kinky one? You'll turn him back into that 16 or 17year old he was when you met him."

The prospects of that obviously intrigued both Kimberly and herself. Completely untainted—almost. The smile that she had on her face was mirrored on Kimberly's face.

"That was a freebie ladies." Getting up from the table Haley laid down the cash to pay for everything they had just had and motioned for them to follow. Getting up from the table, Kat and Kim followed her out the door.

"Where we going?"

"I've got a photo album back at my place in the café that I think the two of you might enjoy. It's filled with some great shit, honestly—some of the stuff I did to him should be considered illegal—plus I've got some stuff on Jason and Trini that you might like to see, and I'm just buzzed enough to not care about getting rid of my blackmail material."

With a devious light in both of their eyes, Kat and Kim followed Haley back to her place.

_Reefside Streets,_

_Saturday, 6:02 AM_

_Reefside_

Reefside on Saturday mornings was quiet these days. It'd been awhile since the last time he'd had to worry about them being hectic at any moment. The peace and complacency that had settled over the town was one the town had readily welcomed, and as he walked the streets of Reefside, Tommy had to admit…he was getting bored.

For the last three weeks he'd thrown himself into his work, attempting to control the impulse to do…_something_. The only thing that his mind had been thinking on for the past month was when the next threat would present itself. If there was something hat history had taught him it was that the threat was never over.

He'd taken to coming into town early on the weekends; usually he managed to be here before anyone was awake. Already he'd been out here for about an hour roaming the streets of Reefside. He'd fought to keep this place safe just like he'd fought to keep Angel Grove safe. He was connected to this place in more ways than one. Angel Grove still held, and always would hold a special place in his heart, but he hadn't been back there in a while. He didn't know why. He'd avoided being back for a long time now. Looking around the streets, at all the buildings that were still closed, he breathed in the air.

After he'd gotten that call from Jason not too far back, he'd spent whatever free time he had training, fiercely. Conner had stopped by once during one of his private sessions and had asked why he still trained as if they had another fight coming. His answer had been to look at Conner quizzically for a moment before asking if Conner wanted to join. His natural athleticism had lent him some skill at the Martial Arts, but ultimately Conner had always been more attuned to sports than Martial Arts. He was decent as far as it went, but nowhere near the point that Tommy wished he'd been at during the Mesogog crisis.

Clenching his fist and looking around, Tommy took a moment. Stopping at one of the corner street signs, the one where he'd come back as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger, he stared at the spot as memory came back to him. It was funny, although the Black Dino Powers had been strong, the connection that he felt to the morphing grid through it was minimalistic compared to what he'd felt when he was the Green and White Ranger. Even the Zeo powers had contained a far greater connection to the Morphing Grid than the powers he'd obtained with the Black Dino Gem. He'd talked about it with the other Rangers, and very few of them had been able to give him definitive answers. He'd tried explaining it to Haley as well, but since she'd never been a Ranger herself, it was hard for her to understand.

Each time he'd changed colors, the power had felt different. Nothing had ever felt as right for him as the powers of the Falcon. Those abilities had come so natural for him. Other Rangers often asked what it was like going through as many changes as he did, and honestly, sometimes it was confusing. There had been a couple of times where he'd performed the wrong morphing sequence. Most commonly was his original one. Honestly, these morphing sequences had gotten far too complicated as time went on—why that had happened he would never know. What was wrong with, _It's Morphin Time!_ Then again, Haley and her not wanting to offend Angel Grove by using the same calls and stances as the originals. Even though he_ was_ an original. So what if he hadn't been intended to be one of the Rangers—even if he did keep that extra morpher on him at all times.

As the sun was peaking over the horizon, Reefside was slowly being bathed in light. Morning proper had finally come, and the night was being washed away by the azure skies. Up above, birds called out in their morning songs—but their songs fell on almost deaf ears so far as he was concerned. He had been wondering for the past month now when the next threat would show up, where it would be.

After his time as the Turbo Red Ranger had passed, he'd advised for other teams—keeping to the background and not coming directly forward on it. He'd only ever meet with either their mentors, or with their leader directly during their greatest trials. Ranger teams usually found out about him through T.J, initially they would go to him, and if he couldn't help them, T.J always sent them his way. Up until this last stint, he had really thought he was done with the war.

Shaking his head and getting out of it, Tommy turned away from that street and continued his jogging. Even though he roamed the city like this most mornings, he figured he might as well fit it into his morning work out. Plus, these things always ended with him stopping by Haley's place. If she was awake she would usually make him Breakfast and they would enjoy a pretty good morning together. If she weren't awake he would make her breakfast and take it up to the apartment she had on top of the Café. It was a ritual left over from the days back when they used to share the same place. He'd really loved those days, but after Haley got the Café and he'd gotten the house out in the middle of nowhere things had only changed enough to suit the fact that they slept in different places these days.

Walking up to the Cyberspace, Tommy could tell that Haley wasn't awake yet. Everything was still so closed off, which meant that most likely she had either been drinking, or reading those romance novels she was so fond of. Honestly, women got away with reading porn, but scolded guys for watching it would forever be beyond him. Zack had made several enthralling arguments over that very fact with more than a few of his girlfriends in the past, and had let on to Tommy how argumentative they could be about it.

Either way, as he unlocked the door to the Cyberspace Café and walked in closing and locking it behind him, he didn't really care too much for the subject. Walking behind the counter Tommy looked through the fridge to see that Haley had everything completely stocked—which was fantastic. Eyeing out the entire ingredient's he would be using in a little bit, he closed the door and walked over to the shower.

For some reason, Haley had a shower built in the back of the Café. To his knowledge, no one ever used it, and so he usually kept some clothes and toiletries there so he could use it whenever he went on these morning jogs. Haley usually took care of the clothes he left behind.

Turning on the shower, steam began rising out from it. He took his showers hot, all the time. It was something that carried over from when he'd been a younger and way more active Ranger. Everything left a peculiar feel on him, and so whenever he took these showers it was a chance to wash away more than just the filth, but also the stress of it all.

Looking directly into the stream of water coming out of the showerhead, his eyes closed of course, he let his memories take him. Contrary to his high school days, he no longer took quick showers. With age came just a bit more stress than he was used to, and since he lived a reasonably quiet life now, he loved to let himself soak under the showers. The heat of the shower brought with it memories that, any other time, he kept locked away. Either because the water boiled his blood, or because it was the only place he would allow his mind to roam, thoughts of _her_ came into his mind.

He was never sure which _her_ it was though. They were a very vague concept to him. Sometimes his memory would let him catch flash's of blond hair, or his minds eye would be looking deep into the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes he'd ever seen. A smile, a laugh, a touch, a kiss…it didn't really matter what it was, but for those few minutes that he just let himself be absorbed by his memoires, those were the ones that always invaded his mind.

Finishing up with his shower, getting out and drying himself off, he took care of his morning ritual of brushing his teeth and putting on all his hygienically inclined products. It wasn't that he was trying to impress anyone; he just liked to take care of himself. He saw nothing wrong with that. Looking in the spot where he usually kept his clothes he was kind of surprised to find out they were there. With a slight sigh, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom door.

The first thing he registered was that something was on the stove cooking. The smell had captured him before anything else had. If he had to guess it was gravy, and now that he thought about it he smelt biscuits too. Huh, looked like Haley had woken up before him. Not spotting her he shrugged it off and began running up the stairs. He had a full on closet of clothes that he kept here due to the fact that the Rangers had sometimes used this as a base of operations.

Opening the door that led to her apartment, he walked in and over to the closet where she kept his stuff. Grabbing out some necessities that he needed, a black shirt, some cargo pants, underpants, and a black button up long sleeve, he turned around—only to be greeted by two of the most striking chocolate brown eyes staring directly into his. Why the only thing he registered was that she was also only in a towel really made no since to him.

"Oh." With that he turned around and walked out the door and down the stairs. Reaching the first floor he was greeted by another shock,

"Hey Kim, was Ha—" She was in a pink tank top and boy shorts. All right, he got it. His mind was fucked. Walking back into the bathroom he closed the door behind him; dropping his clothes to the ground Tommy sat with his back against the door. There was no other answer for it; he'd finally snapped after all this time. There was honestly no other explanation for it; because there was no way that he'd just seen Kimberly Hart in a _Towel_ in HALEY'S apartment of all places, or Katherine Hilliard in HALEY'S kitchen in a pink tank top and boy shorts making breakfast.

Grabbing his cell phone from his pocket, he flipped it open and pressed 3 on his speed dial. It only took a few moments before it answered.

_"Hey Tommy, it's pretty early man, what's up?"_

"Sorry it's so early…Why are you answering Trini's phone?" Yes, he'd either snapped, or stepped into some time distortion.

_"Ah damn, well I can explain that later. Is there a reason you're calling Trini this early on a Saturday?"_

"Yeah, we can talk about that later—it's not like I'll be going anywhere. Anyways, can you put Trini on? I think I've finally snapped."

Some shuffling happened in the background as he heard Jason waking Trini up and giving a quick explanation. It wasn't long before she answered the line.

_"Hey Tommy, it's Trini. What's going on."_

"I'm seeing things. I'm seeing things that can't possibly be real, but they look and smell real."

_"Are you sure? Do you know where you are? Full awareness of who you are? Did you hit your head with anything this morning?"_

"Nah, It's nothing like that. I'm pretty sure I've just snapped. Fell off the damned deep end. You know, I've been expecting this ever since that time I had to fight myself in my dreams. All three of me."

Hushed whispering went on at the other end of the line. He could tell the two of them were discussing this in worried tones. Behind him there was a knock on the door.

"Tommy! Are you in there!" Huh, Haley's voice; finally something that fit.

"Yeah, I'm in here Haley—but I think you're going to have to make sure I stay locked in here until Trini can determine just how insane I've gone."

"What are you talking about Tommy!?"

_"Is that Haley's voice? Are you at Haley's place!"_

"Yeah, I am Trini, wh—" The line clicked as soon as he was about to ask why.

"What, NO! Trini!" Calling the number back she didn't answer.

"Ah damn."

More knocking came from Haley's side of the door.

"Tommy is everything all right!"

"I must have snapped severely Haley, Trini just clicked on me. She must be on her way to evaluate me in person. Make sure I don't try and bust out of here. If I do, use that Taser I gave you on my ass: full force. I don't know how much I've snapped, but I'm definitely not in a good place right now."

"You're honestly not making any sense right now Tommy."

"Well, join the club, because the world isn't making sense to me right now."

_Outside the Bathroom Door_

_Haley's Cyberspace_

It had never occurred to her that it was possible for him to become more toned now than he had been when he was younger. That towel had shown that adulthood had wiped away any vestiges of adolescence Tommy had left over from his younger days the last time she'd seen his body. Walking into the living room and just seeing him casually searching for his clothes, having a normal morning without a care in the world…she hadn't been able to say anything. All she had been able to do was watch him…even though she had been in a towel herself. Her eyes drank in his body, admiring every part of it. It'd been so long since she'd seen him, but her heart hadn't lied to her.

Just like back on Murianthias, the indescribable draw that she felt to him was back—even stronger than what it had been then. And then it had been stronger than the first time she'd seen him in that Martial Arts contest against Jason.

When he turned around to look at her everything about him was drawing her to him. His eyes met hers almost as if he knew exactly where to look to find them without even having to bother guessing. She wondered if he noticed that. Men usually had to adjust themselves whenever they looked her in the eyes, he hadn't even adjusted, and he'd immediately captured her eyes the moment he turned around. It only lasted for a moment, but for her, it was an intense moment. She wasn't able to speak, her throat dried up.

Seeing his face for the first time in eight years was something she hadn't been fully prepared for. His pictures hadn't prepared her for it. She thought she knew what she would do the moment she saw him, had been preparing herself for that moment. She had been wrong in thinking that just because she knew it was coming, that she would be ready for it. His momentary gaze was still as piecing as ever, and if seeing him from the back in a towel made her realize his gained maturity, then seeing him from the front made her realize her own femininity.

She hadn't been embarrassed about being in a towel; in fact she was a little pleased by it. She had _absolutely nothing_ to hide from him. Everything about him, for her, was perfect. Even from where she was standing, she could smell the hints of the fresh shower he'd taken, and then whatever he had put on. It made her want to walk right up to him and just drink in that smell.

The moment ended too soon as a hint of confusion snuck into his eyes, and no sooner did the confusion hit him than did he make his retreat down stairs.

She heard Kat call out to him, thinking he was her coming down the stairs. She wasn't surprised when her voice cut off though. More than likely her Kitty Kat was having the same experience she'd just had. Hearing a door slam shut, Kimberly walked down the stairs only to spot Katherine still looking right where the stair exit ended.

"Was that…"

"In the flesh."

"No kidding."

The sound of foot steps announced that Haley was walking down the stairs right behind Kim, moving out of the way so she could get out, the red headed woman smiled at them as she walked into the kitchen.

"Well, I honestly didn't expect to have a sleep over, but I see the two of you are absolutely fantastic gue…what are you guys looking at?"

Turning around, Haley stared into the hallway they were looking at and immediately ran to the bathroom door. Well, the woman deserved the praise they'd heard spoken about her. She listened at the door for a moment before knocking on it and addressing Tommy.

"Huh, she does know him as good as they told us she did. Didn't even have to ask us what we were staring at, did she?"

"No, I don't think she did."

Standing there in her Towel, she listened to the exchange between Haley and Tommy for a moment. His voice had gotten a little deeper, a stronger feeling behind it—more commanding without a doubt that he had been before. The instructions he listed off to Haley held the voice of a man who knew they were going to be followed. And Kim was sure that under any other situation, Haley would have been more than happy to oblige.

"Just open the door so we can talk Tommy!" From within the room, his voice popped out.

"Haley, trust me, I am not in a good place right now. I think I've honestly snapped this time—for real. Maybe it's a left over effect from when I was stuck in the suit for so long. It might be the coma too. Either way, I'm not going anywhere until Trini get's here and give's me a reasonable all clear."

Looking over at the two of them Haley motioned for them to come closer. Meeting the halfway she whispered, "What happened?"

Whispering back, Kim told her.

"After I got out of the shower to put my clothes back on I walked in on him in nothing but a towel digging through one of your closets and taking some clothes out. He turned around and saw me, said 'oh' and then walked downstairs where I'm pretty sure he ran into Kat here."

Nodding, Haley turned back to the door and banged on it.

"Tommy! You're not insane, Kimberly and Kat are really here!"

"Bull shit, you're just trying to get me to open the door. Everyone knows that both of them are living in London! Besides, you hate Kat and Kim so why would they be here of all places?"

With a wince at that, Haley motioned toward them, giving them the go ahead to take over, while at the same time pulling out her phone and speed dialing someone on the other end. Walking over to the door, Kim stood in front of it and took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Tommy?"

From behind the door she could hear him readjust as he heard the sound of her voice for the first time. Before he could respond, his phone rang from inside the bathroom. He answered it before the first second of the ring was over.

"Hey Trini, yeah I'm here. I'd just like to let you know that I'm about to start talking to myself.—Yeah, exactly. Sounds like she's right outside the door to be honest." Kimberly listened as he talked to Trini and turned around, noting that Haley was still on the phone. Shooting her a quizzical look, Haley mouthed back the word _Jason_ and she nodded. Looking over at Kat, Kim shrugged and waved her forward.

"Tommy is everything okay in there."

"Oh, Kat's voice just popped into my head Trini—I'd recognize that accent anyways. If I'm losing my mind, I'll be honest with you right now and admit that the accent was a complete and total turn on for me. Twenty percent of the reason I went out with her." He stopped talking as Trini said something on the other line.

"Well, what's the point in holding back at all right now? I've cracked my tea cup, so I figure if I give you all the relative information, it can best help you diagnose me."

At the comment about the accent, Kim watched Kat blush. As Kat looked back at her, She had a smug look on her face about the accent. To hell with that enticing Australian accent! Walking back up to the door, Kim banged on it.

"TOMMY! Stop thinking you've gone insane, we're really here!"

At that moment both her and Kat turned toward the front door to the Cyberspace as it opened. Haley also looked that way as a teenager wearing predominately white walked in followed by another sporting a red sports jacket. They both stopped mid turn as they spotted Kat, Kim and Haley. None of them were dressed fully, not even Haley, who was sporting a black top, and boy shorts as well.

The boy in white turned around immediately, Kim was sure that she saw him blush, even though his face was a little on the darker side.

"OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY!"

The other boy just stared, intently, first at her, and then when his eyes found Kat he completely drank her in. Kat looked directly at him and raised an eyebrow in warning, but the kid was either fearless, or completely enthralled.

"CONNER!" At Haley's voice he looked over at her, his eyes widening before he blushed too, and then turned around.

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to, I swear. She was just standing there when I walked in, and oh man I think I need some ice."

"Haley, I'm sorry! I left my backpack here yesterday when I closed up and was just coming by to grab it. Usually you and Dr. O are having breakfast right now and I swear I had no idea you had ummm, partners over!" The kid in white called out without turning around.

"What! Partners! What are you talking about Trent!"

Kim couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. This morning was already screwed up, but the thought of Kat, Herself, and Haley in the three way of these two boys imagination was absolutely too much to handle.

At the sound of her laughter, the bathroom door opened up and as she turned around, she got her first glimpse of Tommy standing halfway out of the bathroom and looking out at the front door. At that exact moment both boys decided to turn around and spotted him.

"Oh fuck, I'm never going to be able to explain this."

"TRENT, CONNER TURN BACK AROUND!"

"DR. O YOU ARE A GOD!" Haley took the opportunity to throw a cup from the counter at the boy in red named Conner, luckily for him by the time it hit, he had managed to turn himself around.

"OW Haley! That hurt!"

"Suck it up!"

At that, Conner got a shove from Trent. And the door behind Kimberly shut again with Tommy locking himself back in it again. From inside his voice could be heard.

"Hey Trini, good news, bad news. They're actually here. The good news is I'm not insane, the bad news is THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!"

Whatever Trini was saying on the phone was lost to Kim due to the fact that Haley was walking towards her and Kat.

"I swear to god if either one of you turn around I will kill both of you!" Motioning both of them up the stairs she practically pushed both of them up them, with her following.

"Sorry for being rude girls, but as much as we need to solve the Tommy issue, the last thing I need are those two getting an eye full of me. And you honestly have to get dressed Kmberly—you too Kat. Even though Kim's the one in the towel, I think you're the one Conner is going to have problems getting out of his mind tonight. He has a thing for blondes."

"Oh joy."

All things considered, this was one fucked up morning.

"Please tell me you have more than just fruit drinks and tea here Haley."

"You think I could put up with my life if I didn't?"

"I think I may grow to love you Haley."

_Reefside_

_Destination:_

_Haley's Cyberspace Café _

He'd heard of rude awakenings, but this morning had been hectic. No sooner than Trini had discovered that Tommy was at Haley's, the place that Kat and Kimberly had called them from more than a little buzzed to let them know they were staying the night with Haley, and that they hadn't all killed each other—Trini jumped up and moved into overdrive. Throwing on her clothes and motioning for him to do the same, they were both in his truck and on their way to Reefside. He was lucky that they hadn't gotten a ticket, but they had been on the road by the time Haley had called him.

Pulling into Haley's Cyberspace, Jason jumped out of his truck the moment it turned off. Trailing behind Trini, they walked up to the door, and he banged on it three times. As soon as he was done banging, the door opened to reveal both Trent and Conner staring at the door.

"Umm, Hey guys. What're the two of you doing here?" Both of them shrugged, while they let Trini and Jason walk through the door.

"Think we should leave?" Conner shrugged at Trent, and the two just closed the door behind Jason and Trini, staying turned towards it. That was odd.

"Hey you two, any idea where Haley is?"

"Yeah, she and her two partners are up stairs."

"Hey Trent, are they partners if it was all four of them?"

"…I dunno."

Jason shared a confused look with Trini as they both headed for the stairs. Before they went up, Jason stopped at the bottom of the stairs,

"Oh yeah, where's Tommy?"

"I'm in here Jase. Go on up though, I need a moment."

"Dr. O, you've been in there for the past thirty minutes. Have you gotten dressed yet?"

"You don't exist right now Conner!"

Shrugging it off, Jason followed Trini. When he reached the top of the stairs, Kat, Kim, and Haley were sitting on her couch and single chair. All three of them looked freshly showered, and like they were waiting out a storm—drinks in hand. Jesus, it was early still!

"So, how's everything going?"

"Not how I expected it to. He's locked himself in the bathroom for some reason."

"Well, not to bring out the extreme obvious, but he'd initially thought he had gone insane Kimberly. Maybe we can take the silver lining here and be happy that he hasn't legitimately gone insane?"

"Yeah, we could do that, or we could think on the fact that he probably wish's he were insane. I think we may have made some slight miscalculations here Trini."

Trini nodded momentarily. She'd never had a patient that thought they were having an episode actually find out that psychotic break down they thought was happening was actually happening. But the fact that he thought the two of them doing everyday things was an episodic event caused her to question how often his subconscious mind thought on the two of them. Tommy had never been an official patient of hers, but she would have loved for him to be one.

"Nonsense. I'm sure it's just that you guys caught him off guard. After all, he ran into you with only a towel on in Haley's place of all places—someone he thought the two of you had no clue existed. Also, he hasn't seen either one of the two of you since both of you technically dumped him; imagine his shock. Plus, Tommy's had a rough time this past year."

"He didn't go evil again did he?"

"Nah, Trent was actually the one it happened to Kat."

"Why does that happen so often?"

Jason shrugged at Trini's question.

"After the Space Rangers it seems that every team has had to have a bit of a bad luck streak when it comes to their sixth rangers. Aside from Cole and Wes; from what I understand they just had to deal with a bit of an asshole streak."

"Who?"

"He's talking about two of the other Red Rangers Kim, Specifically the Wild Force and Time Force Reds. All the Reds met up a few years back for some macho filled mission that no one but Red's were invited to."

"That sounds like it was testosterone filled."

"Bastards nearly got themselves killed."

"That was only Aurico and Leo! The rest of us walked out of there without a scratch on us! Honestly, the two of you still treat me like I'm seven sometimes."

"Bro, you probably had more sense when you were seven. I mean, honestly, why would anyone think it was a good idea, to have nothing but Red Rangers on a team!"

"Nothing but Red's! That sounds epic! Ow! Trent!" From the stairs the two that had been sneaking in on their conversation finally got up to the peering eyes of everyone in the room. Jason nodded his head in support, but after a look from Trini changed it to a shake.

"I thought you two were busy looking at a door."

"Ah, come on Haley! So I snuck a look! Who wouldn't?"

Looking at Trent for some support, he found none. Jason could only shake his head. Tommy had been right. He was probably a great Red, but not too bright in the brains.

"It's like looking in a mirror isn't it?" Jason shot Kim a look, while she smiled back at him.

"So who are the three of you? I mean, you were talking about a mission with nothing but Reds—that means you're privy to the secret."

"Wow Trent, and here I thought you were better than Conner, but it looks like the only thing you paid attention to were the guy Rangers."

Kat and Kimberly laughed at that comment along with Trini. The three of them turned toward the boys while Jason waved them over to the unused couch. Trini joined Kat and Kim, and he dragged a stall over so that the boys could share the love seat.

"It's not like that Haley, honestly. I'm just a bit jarred is all."

"You should have paid better attention." Everyone turned back towards the door as Tommy walked in. A moment of silence took hold of the room while he walked towards his two protégé's.

"The three of them are arguably the longest serving female Rangers on the planet; and Kimberly Hart, the brunette sitting in the middle is only outlasted in service as a Ranger by me. Although she was a Ranger before I was. Apart of the original five teenagers with attitude that Zordon chose to be the very first team of Power Rangers on the planet. Trini Kwan was the original Yellow Ranger, and Katherine Hilliard was chosen to replace Kimberly as the Pink Ranger when Kim decided to leave the team."

The room was quiet at that. Both Trent and Conner seemed to catch onto the mood in the room when Tommy finally looked away from them and decided to look over at two of the three women on the couch. Neither one of them shied away from his look, although Kim did wince a little at the mention of how she had left the team; Jason could understand why though. He hadn't been there when she left, but he knew what it was like to leave the team—it wasn't an easy thing to do. However, he could never understand how it fully felt—even though they hadn't realized it then, the love of his life had left with him.

"Well, at least you remember something with accuracy. It looks like your memory is extremely selective—and here I always though you just had a block of Swiss cheese for a brain."

That pulled a smile off of Tommy's lips, and he turned to look at Trini. She stood up immediately went and hugged him. He returned it enthusiastically.

"It's been way too long." She only nodded, and then proceeded to whisper something in his ear that Jason was sure none of them caught except for Tommy. She would tell him about it later, cause as soon as she whispered into his ear Tommy relaxed a little.

Letting Tommy go from the Hug, Trini drug him forward and Jason dragged a stool over from behind him. Putting his hand up, Tommy stopped him from offering the stool—signaling that he preferred to remain standing.

"Conner, Trent it's been great seeing you guys. If you don't hurry though, you're going to be late in helping Ethan set up in the park. His experiment has to be finished before everyone starts showing up."

"He'l—"At a shove from Trent, Conner shut up.

"Alright Dr. O, Haley, Originals. It was great seeing you guys. Be seeing you all soon." Getting up, Trent grabbed Conner and dragged him to the door. It wasn't until they heard the downstairs door lock that they all looked at each other. During the boys walk downstairs, Jason could have sworn that the air in the room grew thicker than fog.

Haley was fiddling with her hair, turning it in loops, Trini was looking out the window, and Jason was watching the tree of them. Every since Tommy had walked into the room, aside from when he had been initially talking to Conner and Trent, his eyes hadn't left Kim and Kat. Their eyes hadn't left his.

Jason wanted to speak up to try and break the silence, but this was the first time a group of Rangers had ever gathered where he felt he shouldn't say something. After all, he wasn't the veteran Ranger in this grouping—funny, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been ranked third in a grouping of Rangers.

Tommy didn't stay standing. Slowly making his way over to the vacant seats that the two boys had left, he sat down and leaned forward. His elbows on his knees, his hands intertwined in front of his mouth. No matter what, the three of them weren't breaking eye contact. Looking at Trini and capturing her eyes, Jason motioned once; she nodded slightly, and joined him as he got up. Neither of the three of them seemed to notice. Oddly enough, even Haley stood up and joined the two of them. Walking down the stairs, Haley motioned them over to the bar.

"That's the first time I've ever felt like I didn't fit into his life…"

Jason nodded and grabbed onto Haley's hand.

"Don't worry, he's just got to deal with it the only way he knows how."

How he would deal with it though, Jason had no clue. He almost wished he hadn't left the room.

Almost.

_Upstairs_

They were striking. In all the time that had passed, it seemed like the two of them had only gotten more striking. Katherine had bloomed fully into adulthood. If it was possible, she was more desirable than she'd ever been. Her body had grown to it's full potential, not to mention the fact that he was pretty sure that all her work in Ballet had helped her gain an ideal physique. Her hair was amazing, and her eyes were like blue fire.

The only thing that could have caused him to look away was the woman sitting right next to her. A single word rang in his mind as he looked her over. Everything about her, from her eyes, to her hair, to her body, the way she was sitting, her look, her everything only resonated one word. The only word that could ever describe Kimberly Hart is his mind.

_Beautiful_

All of these past years, he'd sometimes thought what he would feel when he saw them again. Aside from the slight psychotic breakdown he'd thought he was having earlier, this was about as far from what he thought he would have felt. His chest was contracting on him, as if trying to implode, and his breathing felt like it was trying to go out of sync. If not for all of the years of discipline he had, he probably would have lost control over it.

"It's been awhile."

What else was there for him to say? The initial reactions were out of the way. And it didn't seem like they were going to say something unless he did.

The two of them nodded, still not saying anything. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take his eyes of them. It's like they were the only direction that existed.

"Sorry to drop in unannounced."

It'd been almost eight full years since he'd heard her voice. Even when he'd watched her in the Pan Global's and in the Olympics he hadn't left the TV on long enough to catch her interviews afterwards. During the Olympics he may have actually been a little drunk. He couldn't remember.

"It's fine it's just a bit of a surprise. I was under the impression that the two of you were living across the ocean somewhere."

He'd never asked for details on the two of them after everything had been said and done. All he had ever needed to know was that the two of them were doing fine. That was all he ever asked of his friends. Honestly, he always had so much on his mind that he only let himself think of them in moments like before, when nothing else was on his mind. And maybe that's why they invaded his head then—because there was nothing else to block them out.

"We both lived in London, together oddly enough. We had a loft that the two of us rented together. It's been that way for the past two years."

Well, that was a bit of a shock. Aside from a few times—and a majority of those times bad, He'd been under the impression that the two of them had never spent much time with one another. Odd how things turned out, and Kat's little revelation that the two of them…why was there a past tense reference to those words?

"Had?"

Kimberly took a breath, at the same time as Kat. The two of them were almost in perfect unison with one another. Beneath his hands, he couldn't help but feel the small smirk that formed on his lips. They had adjusted to one another so completely that they complimented one another without thinking about it. He'd always said that Pinks were the heart of any team, and it seemed that if you got two of them together long enough, they grew together so strongly that they complimented each other in ways that he would have never thought possible.

"We're actually in the middle of relocating at the moment."

"And you decided to stop by Reefside out of the blue?"

"No Tommy, we're relocating here."

Time seemed to stop. First Kim's admission that they were moving, and then Kat's announcement that they were moving here: To Reefside of all places. Where he lived. The place he now felt obligated and responsible for. The place where he felt like he never had to leave. Both of them were moving here.

"Why?"

The two of them looked at one another, before they both turned back to him. It was the first time they hadn't been looking at one another since he had walked into the room. Kim spoke up,

"Tommy," She stood up. There was something about the way she said his name. Millions of memories flooded into his head at that one moment. From the first time he'd heard her say it, to the way her voice had resonated in his head when he'd read her letter. Oddly enough, even though he'd seen her at Murianthias, after he'd saved her and Jason from Maligore, she hadn't said more than two words to him—her and Jason had left not too long after the Martial Arts tournament.

"Honestly this is probably one of the most impulsive things that I've ever done but," The entire time she was speaking, she was walking toward him, and by the time she had said but, she was right in front of him.

"I figure if I'm going to do this it might as well all be on impulse." He was still trying to figure all of what she was saying out before she moved his hands out of the way, lifted his chin up and kissed him. Kimberly Hart was kissing him. Something inside of him stirred. Why, if it had been so long, did this feel so right? There wasn't any instinct to move back away, no feeling that this shouldn't be happening. No sooner than her lips touched his, he completely surrendered to her touch. While before his heart had been racing, it reached a calm, and within him he felt a fire light that had been dead for over seven years.

By the time he felt her moving away from him, he didn't notice that he'd drawn her in as much as he had. She was sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, and his wrapped around her. They were only centimeters apart, her lips brushing his every spare moment, her breathing rivaling his.

"…That's why," She whispered against his lips. He wanted to hold her forever, but all too soon she got up and slowly walked away from him.

At most he was in completely shocked, and at least he was only a little surprised. But if that's why Kimberly was here, why was Katherine here? Looking at her, he noted that Katherine was smirking at Kimberly.

"Well, that's one way to give an introduction to this." Was it so wrong that he'd just kissed Kimberly and still found her accent one of the sexiest things on the planet? He couldn't decide.

"An introduction to what?"

In response to his question, Katherine stood up from the couch as Kimberly was sitting back down, and began walking toward him. What was going on? He had no clue, but as soon as she reached him and started sitting down on his lap too, the only thing that was going through his mind was, _"This is not happening, there is no way this is happening."_

Wrapping him in a hug, he felt the fullness of her against him. His throat dried up almost instantly, and as she pulled back from her hug, she whispered into his ear, "This…" And then she kissed him. In as much as Kim's kiss consumed him, Kat's captivated him. It was completely different, but hinted at a similarity-though it was all her own. She held wrapped her fingers around what there was of his hair, her fingers remembering an old memory of their physical relationship. In that regard she was amazing, since she'd had so much more of him, and more time to learn him in every way possible than Kim had.

Just like with Kim's kiss, Kat's ended far too soon. He was holding her from the waist, pulling her in close, and she was breathless. Pulling back and looking into those beautiful eyes of hers, his eyes momentarily widened when she pulled away from him and walked back toward the couch. He couldn't resist a look at Kim's face; instead of seeing what he thought would be anger, the same smirk that Kat had been wearing was plastered on her face.

"…What's going on?"

"We've both come back for one reason. As you can see, the three of us are all linked to each other, one way or another. Kat and I share one of the deepest bonds I know of, and I love her more than my actual family. And we've both discovered have one more common bond: We're both still in love with you."

He did not just hear that.

"Kim's right, we've both come back for you Tommy."

This…well, aside from a couple of dreams he didn't want to admit to, this could NOT be happening…

"The two of you have no idea who I am anymore—I have no idea who you are anymore. It's been seven years since I saw either one of you."

"Even with that, is any of it dead? Honestly? Cause from those two displays, it doesn't seem like it."

Kim nodded at Kat's statement, adding, "It doesn't matter how much time passes Tommy, we're never _over_. As much as I spent all that time trying for it to be over, it just isn't."

"And the same could be said here. The both of us are tied to you in some way, and until you're completely captured by one of us, the other can't move on."

And a big weight was pulled off his shoulders. Relief that was oddly enough tinged with regret soared through his body. Conner would be proud.

"How much you wanna bet he thought he was getting both of us for a moment there?"

"No doubt in my mind Kimmie—sorry Tommy, unfortunately for you we're both greedy and don't necessarily like to share."

"I don't understand."

"It's actually pretty simple. We're both still in love with, and you're still in love with the both of us. That's the truth, there's no need to bother arguing it, it's just the way the world is, so don't go into some denial trip."

For the first time during this entire thing he smiled.

"I wasn't going to Kim."

The look on their faces was worth it, although he still had no idea what was going through their heads.

"Good, no need to dance around that then. Here's what Kat and I came up with: We both want you, you want both of us, but you're only truly meant for one of us. It's too bad for you that Kat and I aren't kinky enough to share and share alike—be that as it may though she and I have come to an understanding. It's one we hope you'll be willing to accept."

Raising his eyebrow and motioning for her to continue, Kat took over.

"The idea is that although we don't want to share you, we also don't know which on of us you absolutely can't live without. Kim and I have managed to have some form of relationship or another after you, but aside from an amazing best friend, the only girl you've been seeing most likely has a twin with the last name palm."

His pride was a little hurt at that one.

"So, it's a tug of war between the two of you?"

They turned towards one another, smiled, and then turned back towards him.

"Precisely."

"And, forgive the pun, but no cat fights will occur over this?"

The smiles on both of their faces got even wider,

"Done, over, and out of the way already. The way we solved that was by being completely honest with one another. We told each other everything."

Oh shit…

"…Everything?"

When Kimberly winked at him, he couldn't help it. He blushed. Their laughter did not help the situation. At all whatsoever.

"So what are the rules for me?"

"None, you're job is just to fall for one of us and then back off the other as soon as you know which one you want. All the rules are on our side here."

He nodded.

"You know, one of the surprising things is that you haven't asked how we both came up with this. Everyone else was under the impression that we didn't have it in us to do this."

"Kim's basement, and the Turbo Zord hanger."

At the mention of both of those events, Kimberly, along with Katherine blushed and avoided looking at each other. His life had just been turned upside down, and if this was the way it was deciding to turn, he was going to accept the ride full on. If he wasn't completely bat shit crazy and trapped in that bathroom still. He knew both of them though—this was just the type of thing they would do if they honestly believed what they were saying.

"You two might not be kinky enough to share me, but the two of you are definitely edgy and risqué enough to try something like this. If I know nothing else about the two of you, I know that at least."

He was sure the two of them had told one another about the two events that he had mentioned. Both of those were the two that immediately stood out in his mind whenever he thought of the spicier parts of the relationships he had with the both of them. They were bolder than he thought with all of this.

"Alright, point taken. So, you're cool with this? No running back to the bathroom and locking yourself back in there?"

He raised his eyebrow at Kat once.

"I'm not 17 anymore. And I think we're all adult enough for this."

And he knew he had sealed his fate when both sets of eyes looked at him as if piercing him—predatorily. Why did he feel his hand reaching for a morpher that wasn't there?

_Downstairs_

Trini's head was nearly flat on the bar. She had finished up the breakfast that Haley had served her, apparently Katherine had made it—the girl could cook, which was a big plus in Trini's book. The three of them had decided that they would share it, since they didn't expect for any of the three of them to be here at any respectable time. Stealing a look at the clock it had been around twenty minutes since the three of them had been left alone. A part of her was absolutely itching to sneak a listen on the conversation; Jason would never allow it though.

"How long until they get here?"

Shaking her head in answer to Jason's question, Trini kept her forehead on the bar top.

"I called them as soon as you hung up with Haley, so they shouldn't be too far away."

"Who're the two of you talking about?"

"When Trini thought Tommy was going to need a safe place, she called in the cavalry; basically the other originals—including the replacements. Originally the plan was for Tommy to run into Kat and Kim at a together we would be hosting for the two of them at their new place. Being unaware of your schedule and his though, it looks like we made a small mistake."

Picking up her head, Trini saw that Haley was looking around her place.

"So you're telling me that my place is about to be raided by a grouping of friends that some of the most legendary individuals in the world would piss their chance for a moment with?"

"Yup."

As if on cue, the door to the Cyberspace received a slight knock on it. All three of them turned around and looked at it before Haley motioned for Jason to go and open the door for them. Getting up from his chair, Jason went over to the door and opened it to a flood of human beings walking in.

As they were walking in, Trini's smile grew bigger and bigger. First came Zack, always with a bit of a smile on his face. As always, he was sporting his ranger colors; although there was nothing odd about that. He'd taken a liking to wearing black a lot even before he became the black Ranger. Giving Jason their 'bro' shake he made his way in, letting the others walk in behind him.

Adam was right behind him, with Aisha, Rocky, and Tanya closing up the group. Aside from Justin and the Dino Thunder Rangers, every Ranger that Tommy had served a full term with was here. The mini reunion, so close to the last one, had everyone in good spirits. Even the normally quite Adam had a pleasant smile on his face. Getting up, she walked to Zack and gave him a massive hug.

"Is our fearless leader still locked in the bathroom?"

"Nah, he and the two pinks are upstairs." Everyone looked towards her, and then to the stairway as Jason closed the door.

Aisha had a small smile on her face as she began walking towards the stairs.

"No one sneaks a listen." Jason's voice seemed to echo through the room, and the dejected faces of her, Aisha, and Tanya all looked back at him.

"Oh come on Red! Even you have to be curios as to what's going on up there?"

"I might be, but it doesn't change the fact that no one is going to eves drop on them at the moment Aisha…THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO ROCKY!"

Everyone turned to Rocky, who had been sneaking towards that area as well.

With a little laugh, he motioned to the kitchen, "Just a little hungry, and it smells good over here."

"Riiight, I'll believe the hungry part, but not that it was your only interest."

Adam took a seat at the bar and brought attention to the only person in the room that everyone didn't already know off the bat.

"It's been awhile Haley, how've you been?"

"Oh, you know, running this place and keeping the Dino Thunder crew out of trouble. Arranging massive Ranger meet ups, and going toe to toe with some Pinks as well."

Rocky whistled at the end of Haley's introduction.

"You must be as awesome as Tommy says if you took on those two up there. Both of them have two things in abundance: ass and sass—oww! What was all that about!"

"Why is it that half the time you open your moth it's begging for someone to put a first in it?" The little scene between the two of them caused Zack to laugh.

"You sure it isn't time to upgrade to something a little darker?"

"You ain't ready for the mama Bear either boy." When Rocky was nodding his head, she hit him again.

"Pretty abusive there Sha."

"This boy understands three things: Sex, food, and fist."

"Think it's a Red thing?" At that the both of them shrugged while both Jason and Rocky shared a look of slight, but accepting annoyance.

"That's why I went for a black and green one myself girls—doesn't get much better than that mixture."

Adam's slight smile at Tanya's crack made Jason and Rocky glare at him, but he just brushed it off, which made Trini smile. In her opinion if Tommy had stepped down during the Zeo era, he definitely would have been the Ranger to take on the mantle of the Red Ranger. She always thought that he had every quality to lead a team.

Through all of the banter, Haley fit right into all of it. She knew about all of them, and they had each in turn heard so much about that it was no surprise to Trini when the entire group accepted that she was just a natural part of the entire group.

"So how long do you think until the three of them decide to come down?"

"Who knows? From what I can tell, they've been up there roughly thirty minutes. We don't even know if they've said anything yet. When we left the room there was nothing but a lot of staring going on between the three of them. So your guess is as good as mine Adam."

Adam nodded at Jason as Rocky grabbed a seat at the bar. At that moment, Jason swung the door to the Cyberspace open and four teenagers fell into the room. The only male she hadn't met from Tommy's team, Ethan she was sure his name was, fell to the floor crushing a device that had been letting the rest of them listen in on the conversation that they were all having.

Immediately Trent stood up, looking like a deer caught headlights, along with a girl he helped to stand up, who was almost blushing. Conner was getting up, until Kira kicked him back down.

"Hey!"

"This was your idea, you were our Red, we it's you fault." By this time, everyone but Conner had managed to stand up, and the three teens just stood there while Conner stood up. Looking behind himself at them, he looked into the Cyberspace to catch the eyes of all the former Rangers in the room looking at him, along with Haley.

"Umm, hi!" Even his sunny disposition couldn't get rid of the look of evil Haley was giving him.

"Really Conner, eves dropping of all things? And Ethan! I thought you had an experiment to do this morning? Why are any of you here?"

"Listen Haley, when Trent and Conner got to the park they said that I should forget about the experiment and get here as soon as we able to get a hold of Kira I didn't know what was going on until they had me hook it up so we could listen in on you guys! It was all Conner's idea!"

"Hey! Trent was egging you guys along just as much as I was!" At that Trent stepped a little back, but met the resistance of Jason closing the door with his foot.

"No escaping this time boys, and I'm at a loss in helping you Conner, since you decided to come in when we have not one, not two, but a grand total of three veteran Yellows here to logic up your ass and spit you out."

"There are three Yellows here?" Trini waved at Kira, while Aisha nodded her head, and Tanya…

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE THE TANYA SLOAN!"

"I think she knows her." Rocky whispered into Aisha's ear, while the rest of everyone laughed. Tanya got up and pulled Kira into a hug.

"I've been wanting to meet you for awhile, Tommy's told me a lot about you and your career." Kira hugged tightly and then let go to Tanya holding her hands.

"I had no clue, I mean, I saw the video tape and everything, but it didn't click until just now that you were THE Tanya Sloan, after all, you looked a little bit different then and all."

At that Tanya turned to the others with a slightly curious expression.

"Tommy kept a record of all of his exploits as a Ranger, along with one detailing the history of the Rangers that was up to date as of the Ninja Storm team that existed right before the Dino Thunder Team—in case anything happened to him, he wanted the three of them, there were only three of them at the time, to have some knowledge of their history."

The others who hadn't known about that nodded in Haley's direction.

"Where did Tommy find all the footage?"

"You know Rocky, I've never asked him about that."

"Zordon kept some interesting things in the Command Center." Everyone turned around at the sound of Tommy's voice. Behind him, Katherine and Kimberly were walking down the stairs. Moving out of the way, the three of them made their way to the main room of the Cyberspace.

"So, the three of you are done talking?"

Tommy nodded at Jason, while Kat and Kim winked—Trini was sure that every girl in the room caught that, including Kira, who was still kind of in awe about Tanya, but who absolutely couldn't ignore her former science teacher and Ranger mentor walking down from upstairs with the likes of Katherine and Kimberly trailing him. As it was, all of the guys were looking at Tommy—although Conner made the mistake of looking behind him at Katherine and she could have sworn his eyes flashed green.

"For now at least."

"So, are the three of you going to be hogging each other up the entire time, or don't I get to say hi!" Kimberly ran from behind Tommy and directly into Zack's open arms.

"KIMMIE! It's been way too lon—ugh, still don't like the nickname I gave you huh?" She had punched him in the gut when he addressed her as Kimmie, and Trini couldn't do a thing but smile at her. The woman was absolutely glowing, and it wasn't just because of her reunion with Zack, although that played a small part in it.

"It's good to see you again too Zack. How's the dance scene around here?"

"From the looks of Kat, it's just gotten a lot better." Kat smiled at him as she made her way to hug him as well.

"Hey there to you too Zack."

"How's the teams favorite Australian doing?"

"Only a little Jet lagged."

"Girl, I know the two of you aren't about to forget about the Mama Bear!" Kim and Kat practically tackled Aisha while Zack clasped hands with Tommy in a similar shake to his and Jason's 'bro' shake.

"Looks like you're in some prime conditions, please tell me you didn't make me waste those three months?"

Tommy smirked at that comment, and Trini honestly couldn't help but be curious to that comment. She remembered Zack's comments back at the last get together, but still couldn't place it.

"Damn Pinky, you're still short as ev—ow, hey, NOT FAIR! One at a time at least!" Kim, Kat, and Trini had all gotten a shot in at Rocky.

"Haley, do you have something I can feed Rocky with? He needs to be chewing something to make sense." All of the girls laughed at the jib with most of the guys just shaking their head.

"Rocko, you gotta step your game up man!" Waving his hand down at Zack, Rocky accepted the hugs from Kat and Kimberly, before the two of them moved down the line and Rocky moved to Tommy, bumping fist with him real quick.

"You sure you want to try and handle both of them at the same time man, that's like asking for a bomb to bl—" The time the hit came from Tommy, and in his gut.

"Still a sensitive subject Rocky, we'll talk about it later."

"No problem boss" he coughed out, grabbing one of the chairs in the café to sit in.

"So, you're in black now too? I didn't notice it when you first walked into the room, but shouldn't you be in either Green, White, or Red?"

At Zacks comment, Tommy smirked, and Zack just shook his head.

"That's wrong multicolor, just plain wrong."

"You're telling me!" Adam was smiling after just having hugged Kim and Kat himself, both of the two of them kissing him on the forehead and telling Tanya that the handsome prince as obviously a true myth.

Walking towards Tommy with a small nod of respect and getting one back, he joined the guys group.

"I already had to share green with him, but I've gotta share black to! Leave some for the rest of us."

"Well, he may have worn Red last among us, but I wore it best!" With Jason walking up, the others just laughed as the two men known as brothers hugged one another. Trini couldn't help but smile at the site of all her "guys" together once again. She loved each and every member of this group without compare, and all of them together only made her notice the missing link in the chain even more.

Two arms wrapping themselves around her from behind and squeezing her distracted her for a moment.

"I didn't get a chance to give you a proper hi yeller!" Turning around, Trini wrapped her arms around Kimberly and almost buried her head in the woman's shoulders.

"I miss him Kim." And without waiting or having to say anything about it, Kim wrapped her in her small arms completely and just held her for a little. She had missed Kimberly a lot more than she could ever let the tiny woman know she had. She was her oldest friend, longest confidant, and the girl who had gone through everything with her.

"I know, but we'll find him soon, even if we have to rip apart the universe to find him." Smiling at her best friend Trini gave her one last real tight hug and looked over at Tommy surrounded by the guys. He looked so much better than he had when he walked into the room upstairs. She had taken a moment to whisper a slight encouragement into his ears before he sat down, and he had at least been able to relax after that.

Seeing him in a grouping where he wasn't on uneven footing with any of the men around him, Trini was able to grasp the kind of man he was all over again. He was completely happy that people who could understand him surrounded him—and he was definitely happy that Jason was here. Jason had often told her how, when Tommy took over, he was surprised at how relieved he was. It had been shocking for him at first, when leadership had shifted over to Tommy.

He let out that he had gone back to the Command Center that night and found Zordon waiting for him. And then he had let loose everything, from the way he felt confused as to how the shift in leadership had happened, to how when the change in power had occurred, he had felt a massive weight taken off of his shoulders. Afterwards he commented on how Tommy would at times come and talk to him just because he needed someone who could understand the burdens of having an entire team on his back. Even though Jason was still there as his second, there was something to be said about the strain she had watched the both of them go through. The brotherhood between all of the guys was something she would never fully understand, but one that she completely got, it was what she felt for the tiny woman and the bombshell blond, both of whom were going about with Tanya, Haley and Aisha at the moment while Trini sat back and observed it all.

Behind all of this, Trini snuck a peek at the youngest group of Rangers in the room. They looked so out of place and unsure of themselves in this group that Trini decided to take pity on them.

Walking over to them, she leaned on one of the couches that they were all next to watching everything on and just smiled at them.

"You know, there are about a dozen different teams of Rangers that would love to have any one of these guys attention, and your group has all of them alone—you're Rangers too, how about you join in with the rest of the family?"

Conner, Ethan, and Trent looked up at her for a moment before they began walking forward. Kira made a move to follow them before Trini grabbed onto her and took her towards Kimberly and Katherine.

"All of them except you, there are two women I'd like you to meet."

"Uh, sure." Walking up with Kira, both Kim and Kat stopped talking to their respective conversation partners and turned around to face the Trini and her newest addition to team yellow.

"My dear two pinkies, this lovely girl here is the Yellow that the Swiss Cheese Ranger over there mentored. Although her colors were Yellow, it might be of interest for the two of you to know that she was also a pterodactyl."

At that, both Kat and Kimberly smiled.

"Wait, wait, since there's only one girl I'm going to guess that all the other team members were guys?" When Kira nodded her head yes, Kim yelled over everyone talking, "HEY TOMMY, COULDN'T YOU FIND THE TIME TO PUT IN SOME PINK IN THIS TEAM!"

Without even bothering to turn around, Rocky yelled back, "NAH, HE'S GOT SHIT LUCK WITH THAT COLOR APPARENTLY, PLUS COMBINING THE YELLOW AND PTERODACTYL MADE FOR LESS TALKING ALL AROUND."

The boys side of the room cracked up while Aisha held out her hand to Haley, who placed a gigantic row of napkins that were sealed together in it. Taking aim, Aisha fired and scored when the napkins hit the back of Rocky's head. Without missing a beat, and again without turning around, Rocky fired off both fingers at Aisha.

Smirking, Trini ignored the men for now and gathered all the girls around her.

"So, I was about to tell Kira here how bad I felt about having to be on a team mentored by Crayola over there."

Kira couldn't help but laugh at that comment.

"Has he honestly worn that many colors?"

"Girl, that spikey haired Swiss for brains has been," At this Aisha held up her hand and a finger with each color, "The first ever Green Ranger, the first ever White Ranger, the first ever Ninja White Ranger, the first Ranger to ever be two different Rangers at the same time, the first Ranger to ever shift powers completely, thus becoming a Red Ranger for the Zeo Rangers, he was also the first Turbo Red Ranger—yes they were different shades of Red, and now he's added black to his color scheme. He can also go on record as the first evil Ranger, and as the first and only ranger to serve with more Rangers than any other Ranger currently in existence. He also holds the unique distinction of being the longest serving Ranger of all time. Oh, and he's probably piloted more Zords than anyone here. He's earned every colorful name in the book."

Trini witnessed Kira look at her former mentor with a newfound respect for a moment before coming back to the conversation.

"Okay, point taken. And you were the second yellow Ranger, right?"

Nodding her head up and down, Aisha coupled herself with Tanya and Trini, hugging one with each arm.

"Unlike any other color, Tommy is the ultimate curse of the Yellow Ranger. He's been through four of us now. FOUR OF US YOU BASTARD!" Turning over, Tommy smirked and then continued with his group.

"And I'm guessing the two of you are the only Pink Rangers he's served with."

"Sweetie, those two are the only girls in Tommy's book, period." At that Kira turned to Tanya, and then back to Kat and Kim. She then looked back at Tommy, then back to Kat and Kim again. After doing it one more time, she shook her head.

"Okay, there's no way Dr. O could have pulled the both of you, much less one of you. It's impossible for him to have that much game." Without noticing it, the room had gone quiet around Kira, but only for a moment as every female ranger, including Katherine and Kim, began laughing hard.

"Oh man Tommy, that was cold." And then Zack, along with every other guy, excluding the Dino Thunder Rangers lost it.

"No doubt there Kira, Kimberly had to ask Tommy out!" That from Jason, who was near on about to fall to his side, Conner, Ethan, and Trent couldn't help but join in on their laughter.

"Yeah, he had to spend the entire week before SHE asked him out conversing and getting help from both Jason and I. I think he even asked Billy for advice." Even with their dear friend in absentia, they couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Tommy having to ask Billy for advice on love.

Trini absolutely loved this. With everyone around her laughing, even with the mention of Billy, she was able to relax, although Tommy looked like he had just about enough. Smiling a smile, and swearing his eyes had just flashed green, Trini watched as Tommy walked away from the guys and towards the group of girls. Walking right past every single on of them, he stopped at Kim, lifted her laughter-infested face up, and planted a kiss on her lips. Her laughter stopped almost as soon as he kissed her—and everyone could tell that as soon as their lips connected they were both enthralled with one another. Not too long after that, Tommy ended it with one more peck on her lips before grabbing Kat and repeating the performance for all of them to see. The result didn't change, and Trini couldn't help but want to start laughing manically at how the jaws on every one of Tommy's protégé's faces dropped at the same exact time. Meanwhile she snuck a look at Kim, wondering ho that had affected her.

The smirk on the woman was an obvious challenge. From what she knew of Kim, she was taking this as an open waiver that Tommy was game for whatever Kat and her had planned. Smiling, Trini watched as Tommy ended his little performance with Kat as well and walked out the door.

"Let the games begin."

While the door to the Cyberspace closed, everyone looked towards the man who had walked out, including Katherine and Kimberly.

"Show off." Rocky said, and this time a cup was sent flying his way.

"…Why is no one kicking Dr. O's ass right now?"

"I've been asking that question ever since he joined the team Conner."

Trini felt like throwing something at Jason.

"I, and I can't believe I'm agreeing with Conner, have to agree with Conner—why aren't either one of the two of you kicking Dr. O's ass right now?"

Both Kat and Kim just smirked at Kira and together walked to the other side of the room and up the stairs of Haley's place.

"Game's on everyone."

Tommy's protégé's looked around the room at all of the older Rangers there, and Trini couldn't help but smile. Rounding up Kira and the rest of the girls, she headed up stairs with Kim and Kath while she peeked behind he and noticed that Rocky was closing the door behind all of the guys who had left the café as soon as their respective others went up stairs.

Oh the game was definitely on.

"What game?"

Trini couldn't help but smile at Kira. She was in for an interesting conversation.

_Outside _

_Haley's Cyberspace_

_Reefside_

Walking away from inside the Cyberspace in that manner had him blushing. It was silly, stupid, and slightly juvenile to do so, but in that moment all he wanted was for everyone to stop laughing at him. After that his body had decided to act on impulse. That idiotic Y chromosome that needed to prove himself to the guys, and show the girls wasn't able to resist going for not one, but both Kat and Kim, and showing them that he was down for their little "game". Although he was playing for stakes much higher than he had ever put up before.

"DR. O YOU ARE THE MAN!" The slight wave of annoyance that hit his head as Conner's voice reached him caused him to turn around, just in time to catch Jason's full on tackle. Stopping it, Tommy couldn't do anything but laugh at the idea that Jason had just attempted to tackle him.

"Well, that was ballsy, I'm surprised you had it in you." Grinning at Jason as he righted himself, Tommy nodded to Adam, Rocky, and Zack.

"No doubt Tommy, I didn't think you'd actually start their games by taking the upper ground from the get go. I expected you to be overly emotional and responsible, and slightly turned off to the idea."

Adam nodded with Zack while Rocky just shrugged.

"Wait, what's going on, why didn't Dr. O just get smacked by every woman in that room?" The confused look on Conner, Ethan, and Trent's faces almost had him wanting to facepalm himself—but he resisted the urge.

Rocky wrapped on of his arms around Ethan's Neck and tugged on him a little.

"Well, my fellow former Blue—"

"You were a blue?"

Jason laughed out loud.

"Yeah, Rocky was a blue, but that doesn't mean he's a Blue, if you catch my drift. Originally he was my replacement as Red. Luckily for the team, while Rocky was a blue, Billy had stuck around and acted in the role of an advisor for everyone. In my opinion, Billy was as blue as you could get."

Every one of the veteran Rangers was nodding their head's at Jason's statement, and Tommy couldn't have put it better himself.

"Without a doubt. Honestly, Billy made leading the team back then a lot easier than it would have been without him. And Jason's right when he says that Billy was as Blue as you can get."

"Yeah, the guy was amazing. He invented a flying car when he was sixteen, created the communicators, repaired the Zords, and advised Zordon a couple of times. Definitely the smartest guy I've ever met. And, not to mention, for being so nerdy he had away more girlfriends in high school than everyone in this group aside from me."

Jason shoved Zack a little at that comment, for leaving the conversation on a note that he had bee trying to take it away from. Tommy sighed and shrugged at Jason. He had taken Jason's lead at that one, and Zack had led the full circle. From the smirk on his face, it had been completely intentional too.

"He sounds like an awesome guy, but it doesn't answer why Dr. O doesn't have bruised cheeks at the moment." Conner and Ethan nodded along with Trent's statement.

Rocky, who was still clutching Ethan, but around the shoulders now laughed a little.

"They're going to find out either way."

Tommy spared a look at Jason, and all Jason could do was shrug back at him. So it was all up to him. Nodding at Rocky, Tommy gave him the go ahead. He didn't want to have to explain it himself.

"Alright, the reason your science teacher here isn't getting mauled by the brigade of Yellow's that exist on our Teams is because both of those girls, the beautiful brunette and bombshell blonde back there, are in a little contest right now over him. So basically they don't care."

Trent's jaw dropped to the floor at that, along with Ethan's—while Conner was just nodding at Tommy. No shock whatsoever. Just nodding.

"Alright, I gotcha. That happened to me back in the 11th grade." Every Ranger there looked at Conner.

"What?"

"Man, where were girls like that back when we were in school?"

"They were there Jason, Kim and the girls just kept them away from you guys."

"Ironic. What about you?"

"The ladies loved Zack—it would have been a useless and losing battle if they had tried."

"You know, even I want to smack Zack on behalf of women everywhere. And because you just spoke about yourself in the third person."

Adam spared a glance at Rocky,

"Don't lie to yourself, that smack would be in jealousy—you've always wanted to address yourself in the third person."

Zack smiled at Rocky and gave him his classic 'don't hate' smirk.

"So both of them want Dr. O?" Ethan's almost shocked tones caused Tommy to look back at him.

"Is it really that unbelievable?"

"Well, I know I'm the last one that should be saying this, but aren't you a little too nerdy for girls like that?"

Jason smirked at Ethan, while Adam just walked up and patted Tommy on the shoulder.

"Kids these days, they don't understand how cool mullets were back in the day!" Adam wasn't able to hold in his laughter before the end of the sentence, and all there veteran rangers were soon laughing at Tommy.

"What's a mullet?"

"I'll just take that as a small blessing."

"I don't know Tommy; the youth of this generation are lost."

Walking away from his buddies, he continued on his way to his car.

_Haley's Cyberspace_

_Upstairs apartment_

The two of them were nuts. That's all she was willing to comment on; that's all she would comment on. Why were they willing to not only do this, but do it publicly where all of their close friends knew what was going on was way beyond anything she could personally think of, but as she was grabbing a seat in her apartment, Haley couldn't help but smile a little but at the fact that Tommy had finally taken some damn initiative when it came to something other that Ranger business.

Although, she was sure that poor Kira would have felt a lot better about the entire situation if they would have just been here to talk about some mission that could probably get her killed.

"So you mean to tell me that the two of you are competing against one another for Dr. O, that you've both agreed to it, and that you have no problem with what he just did?"

"Yeah Kira, that sounds about right."

Kira turned to look at Tanya and Aisha who were no sharing her loveseat, while Kira sat in the single chair in the room, and Trini say beside Kim whispering in her ear every now and again. Haley had decided to sit on one of the stools.

"Are they insane?"

"Sweetie, they're pinks. Pinks are always doing stuff that every other female ranger considers bat shit crazy. Like these two women here; never in a million years would Aisha and I attempt something on this over Adam—even though he's a fantastic guy. He's a childhood friend of Aisha's, and he's the best boyfriend on the planet. But I would chop his balls off if he ever did what Tommy did."

"So why don't the two of you have the same sentiments!"

In unison, almost everyone in the room, aside from Haley herself answered back,

"Because they're pinks."

"Honestly, how much does this color coordination have to do with our personalities?"

"Tommy likes to think that it has a lot to do with it, the evidence suggest that the color will choose the person most like the one who formerly wore that color. Although there was a slight break in this tradition for a while so far as Blue's are concerned. Billy was the epitome of everything a blue is seen as nowadays. But Blue's can be very sporadic—for instance, Ethan would be considered your traditional blue; but both Rocky and T.J have worn blue after being Red's—and even Rocky is a unique case since he was, to my knowledge, the only single Red on a team in history not to lead his own team."

Haley nodded along with everything Trini was saying. Kira looked slightly confused.

"So what are the classic traits of Yellow's?"

"Female blues." Kim got out before any of the Yellow's in the room could reply to the comment. Haley was surprised that even she felt that that was a bit of an undignified answer to represent the Yellow's in the room. Well, Tommy and Trini always told her that if they had to attribute a color to her, then it would have been yellow.

"Right…And what are the traits of Pinks?"

"Well, that's a debatable subject right there. Every Pink I've ever come across has almost seemed like a clone of sixteen year old Kimberly—in some way, shape, or form. Barring the obvious obsession with Tommy,"

"Hey!" Both Kat and Kim said in unison while Trini waved both of them off.

"The two of them also did something very unique in the fact that Katherine manifested the same exact spirit animal as Kimberly did. They were both Cranes—and to a greater extent they shared the same exact Power Source—Kimberly was Katherine's direct induction into the morphing Grid, and so because of that, the Pink Powers have always been tied to very…unique individuals."

Haley wasn't so surprised with how much Trini knew about this subject.

"I have to completely agree Trini, Tommy has a habit of classifying the colors: Red's are always the leader—this has only not been the case three times in known Ranger history. In the case of Tommy as the White Ranger, Delphine as the White Aquitarian Ranger, and one of the Rangers from the After Zordon era—Jennifer Scotts, she was the Time Force Pink Ranger."

At that both Kimberly and Katherine picked their heads up.

"So you're saying that a Pink once led a team of Rangers?"

"Yeah, and from what I hear she was pretty impressive, although the team later took on a very strong resemblance to what the Aquitarian Ranger's team structure looked like: Their Red Ranger Wes calling the shots on the battle field. Sorry to interrupt Haley."

Waving Trini a 'don't mind', she continued on.

"Anyways, usually Reds are the leaders. Blues, fundamentally, were the technical advisors of the team—I never knew Billy so I can't speak for him, but apparently imagine Ethan a thousand times smarter and you've got Billy."

"And then you have the Mellow Yellow's!" Haley couldn't help but laugh at Kim's outburst on her own distinct title for the Yellow rangers—although she was sure it was only a jab at Trini, since out of the yellow's, only Trini brought her hand to her forehead.

"Yellow's are usually secondary advisors, and in the case of Trini I hear she was one hell of a translator for Billy."

"Translator?" The confused look on Kira's face caused Trini, Aisha, and Tanya to laugh.

"Billy was very smart, and a bit of a nerd—overalls and big glasses type of nerd. When we were younger he would get overly excited and talk in a way that no one understood the techno mumbo jumbo he was speaking except for Trini."

Trini bowed her head at that comment, but motioned for Hayley to continue on.

"After Yellows, you have a bit of a quagmire—due to the fact that those three colors, Red, Blue, and Yellow, have become the core colors of any team. The original team though, as you should know, had five colors. Pink and Black rounded out the last two."

"That's almost like us, the only color we didn't have was Pink."

"Yeah, the only reason I know about these distinctions is because Tommy would constantly comment on the fact that he wished he'd been able to manipulate and create a Pink Dino Gem."

Kira looked back at both Katherine and Kimberly, a look of confusion on her face.

"What, did he want a distraction for Conner on the team or something?"

Trini couldn't help but to burst out laughing at that comment. Along with Aisha and Tanya, Hayley let loose a torrent to, although Kimberly and Katherine weren't laughing, and Kira had a mild blush on her cheeks.

"No Kira, Tommy always called Pink Rangers, and this is with no pun intended, the heart of the team. For the longest time Pink was one of the core colors, but somewhere along the way they stopped."

"Which has always led me to believe that something shifted in the morphing grid, one way or another. I've never had the chance to test that theory though, unfortunately it's no longer my highest concern—and the power is still there, regardless if it's missing what both Tommy and I consider to be one of the most important factors to a team." At that Trini smiled at the two resident Pinks.

"So how does this explain why these two aren't both kicking Dr. O in the nads right now?"

The yellow's in the room took a moment to look at each other and all shrugged.

"Being really Kira, the two Cranes here both want the same man. They don't want to share him, but they do both want him, and until one of them has him, neither will forget about him, and so they're doing this so they can both move on. There's a long and slightly fucked up backstory to all of this though."

"Well, when you put it that way Aisha!" Sticking her tongue out, Kimberly pouted—honestly; it probably ranked in the top cutest things Hayley had ever seen.

"Well, it looks like we've got some time, care to share the story? Cause apparently I'm the only odd girl out."

Hayley looked around at everyone, and then everyone looked at both Kat and Kim.

"It started back in my sophomore year…"

_Outskirts of Angel Grove_

_Outdoor Park_

_5:30 PM_

T.J sat on a bench in a currently empty park, or that's what it felt like. It'd been over an hour since he'd seen anyone walk by him, but the quiet time he was experiencing right now was priceless. Earlier he had managed to contact each and every single member of his team, including Ashley. Each one, aside from Ashley, had agreed to meet him here.

He had arrived a few minutes early and had decided to sit around and wait for the others to show up. Sometimes just being by himself was what he needed before he was around any rangers. Instead of wearing the last color that he'd been in uniform in, he was wearing Red today. No matter what had come after, he was a former leader of team—although from what he'd discovered, his reign as a leader was probably the worst stretch.

Playing second to Andros had been difficult at first, but in the interest of finding and saving Zordon, T.J. had been willing to do whatever had been necessary.

"You look like you thinking hard."

A smile crossed his lips when the voice of his most supportive team member spoke out from behind him. Turning around from the bench he was sitting on, he laid eyes on Cassie for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Getting up from the bench, he opened his arms and let her run straight into them.

"I don't know how you make those guesses from behind me."

As she squeezed him tight, she let out, "I don't need to see your face to know how you're feeling."

At that, he knew she was right. They had been through so much with one another, that it honestly impressed T.J sometimes. Their bond was one only another Ranger could come to understand. It was a closer one than he shared with the rest of both the Space and Turbo team. After all, the two of them had started this wayward adventure together by rescuing Kat and Tommy; he suspected that it was because of that act that Tommy had chosen him to replace him as the leader of the Power Rangers.

Letting her go and sitting on the bench again, with her next time him, T.J. just smiled. They had known each other for seven years now, and often people mistook their relationship for something that it wasn't. Sometimes, even other Rangers pushed T.J and asked why he and Cassie never got together, and honestly the only answer he could give them was that in a world gone insane, she was the only sane thing around a lot of the time. She'd become a pillar for him, but never more than as a friend.

"It's good to see you again Cass, really."

"So what's got my favorite Red down?"

Laughing at that, T.J. smiled a beaming smile at her, and then decided to let loose the torrent.

"This Ranger meeting we have coming up. I'm excited for it, but to be honest, I feel kind of inadequate because of it?"

He eyes narrowed at him over this.

"I thought you were over this."

"I thought I was too, but just the thought of seeing the other Red's again has me thinking about my placement in those rankings. Not to mention seeing Tommy and Jason. After all, you've met Tommy before; the guy is like, the ultimate legend in Ranger lore. Not only that, but he led four teams—I've often questioned myself on how things would have gone if Tommy hadn't stepped down as the leader of the Turbo Rangers."

The look on Cassie's face right now wasn't one T.J wanted to face. Actually, it had been one that he'd wanted to avoid, but trying to hide what he was feeling from her was hard to do, if not impossible.

"They're humans just like you are, and I think Tommy, of all people, would understand what you're going through. I don't talk to her as often as I'd like to, but a few years ago, I asked Kat about her experiences as a Pink Ranger—after all, she'd been three different shades of Pink. While we were talking, Tommy was brought up." A slight smile accompanied her face now.

"Honestly, I had been curious about him from the get go. I have met him before, but to be honest it was only for that short period of time. I wanted to know who the former leader of the Power Rangers was. Eventually we got around to talking about his past, and she let out to me that Tommy was originally the Green Ranger from Angel Grove—the Original Green Ranger."

T.J nodded his head. He'd known about that for the longest time.

"I remember reading the newspapers back then. I hadn't lived anywhere near Angel Grove, but what I remember was the complete horror I had whenever I read about the rising death tolls that were occurring because a new Power Ranger had defeated the ones that were constantly saving the city. When I found out that was Tommy, I was shocked."

"He does that."

All of the other team leaders, after Jason and Tommy had left the group had discussed this after the Red Ranger mission. Jason had stayed behind and when they had all been bragging about some of their biggest accomplishments—something that had left T.J feeling inadequate to begin with Jason had brought up the Green Ranger fiasco. Up until that moment T.J hadn't known that Tommy had also been the Green Ranger—it was way before he ever came to the Power, or before he was really interested in the Power Rangers.

"The only reason I bring it up is to say that although he'd done all of that in his past, he was able to look past it and become the man he became—the man who eventually entrusted the legacy of Power to you. I think he chose well; no matter what did happen while you were the leader. If not for you we would have given up or failed a lot of times, I would have given up. I probably would have never accepted the Power in the first place if not for you."

T.J. Smiled at her. She really was a sweet girl. Even though she was cheering him up, he could tell the she was more than a little antsy right now as well.

"Thanks for that Cass, but what about you?"

The surprised look she gave him made T.J smile.

"Don't forget, I know you as well as you know me; there's no need in trying to hide it, I've been able to tell when you're having issues for the longest time. It was once my job to be concerned about you, now it's just my pleasure to."

Cassie smiled at him as she wiped a small tear out from under her eye with her sleeve.

"It's been over seven years since we found that message from the Phantom Ranger on Hercuon; I guess I expected to see him again after all of that was said and done—after the war was all said and done."

T.J nodded his head once. For some reason he would never understand, Cassie had developed a very interesting relationship with the Phantom Ranger that had been entirely unique to the two of them. T.J had never attempted to ask just how deep those feeling had gone, what he did know was that the Phantom Ranger had always some partiality to Cassie, and she had done the same for him—memories of when Divatox had stolen his ruby shot to mind. Cassie had been frantic then.

"I don't know how likely it'll be for us to see him at this upcoming reunion. That I know of, no one ever knew who he really was, or where he was really from. I heard some unconfirmed reports that he was from Eltar, but from what their delegates have told me, Eltar never produced a Ranger like that."

"Well, a girl can hope, right?"

"There's always hope."

At that, she smiled, and just in time; from a distance T.J could already spot Carlos and Justin making their way over to them.

"Well, they're here."

"It'll be good seeing everyone again, and I'll finally get to rib Justin about that girl he was with. I think he's been avoiding me."

"Go easy on him."

She smiled an evil smile.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed it.

Please Read and Review!

Divinitas Intereo


	10. Chapter 10

**Act 1 Part IX**

_The Silver Hills_

_Silver Guardians Residence_

Wes Collins stepped out of the bathroom and breathed in the cool air of the house. He loved the cool air, but had gotten into the habit of taking extremely hot showers during his Ranger days. Being a Silver Guardian was really no different than that at times when it came to the job being a little messy—although the paycheck was better with the silver guardians.

As Jen walked out behind him though, he had to admit that being a Ranger definitely came with better perks. Walking into the living room, fully dressed, the idle thought that it may have been time to get there own place passed through Wes head. Looking at his beautiful fiancé, he knew she didn't mind though. Honestly, living with two of their best friends made things extremely interesting. Plus, although they valued their alone time, it was nice to have others around, and it was good for him to have Eric around.

Whenever either one of them felt restless, they would take it out on one another in the back yard. It kept both of them in tiptop shape, and helped them maintain an edge that the other Silver Guardians found impressive. Honestly, Wes sometimes wondered how he and Eric matched up to some of the other Rangers.

"You look like you've got some interesting things on your mind."

With a slight smirk, he turned to Jen. She was lying down on the couch, stretched out to her hearts content. This was a side of her he loved to see. He used to joke about how she needed to lighten up, and was proud of the fact that he could see her in this relaxed state of mind a lot of the time. Due to the fact that she was from the future, her having an actual job was a little out of the question, but she actively served as a senior consultant for the Silver Guardians on a regular basis, and if a situation called for it, she was always more than willing to return to active duty.

"I was just wondering how Eric and I would measure up in a little competition against the other Rangers teams."

The slight sparkle in Jen's eyes spoke volumes.

"Who do you think could honestly beat you?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. I know in raw talent and skill that Jason and Tommy are probably the highest class of Ranger, and that to my knowledge the two of them have basically tied one another every time they've fought. I've also heard them mention several of their friends from the first team that are master martial artist. Two of them are master black belts, and one of them even invented his own style of martial arts."

"Rocky Desantos is a legend in the field of Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, and at this point he's currently a 6th degree Black Belt In Traditional Karate. Adam Park is also a 6th degree Black Belt and holds special distinctions for being a very clever fighter, as well as impleting various martial arts into his fighting. Zack Taylor is responsible for the invention of a fighting style called hiphop-kido. He's an absolute master at fluidic fighting, and can adjust to any fighting situation—although in traditional martial arts he's the only male Ranger outside of William Cranston who doesn't hold any distinctions in the official martial arts realms on the original teams."

For a moment, all that Wes could do was stare at Jen as she recited the attributes of the original team members. To say the least, He was shocked.

"Well, aren't you a walking encyclopedia on those original Rangers."

"I've told you before that Zordon's Chosen are extremely revered individuals in the future. They're mandatory knowledge for every Ranger in the future."

"Alright then, what about Jason and Tommy?"

Jen winced a little at that.

"Well? You going to share all that impressive knowledge you've got?"

Sighing, she reached out for him, and he lay down beside her and let himself be enveloped in her arms for a moment. Enjoying the feel of her, he pushed back with a slight kiss on her lips brushing s he did so before looking into her eyes.

"Sharing is caring?"

With the cutest laugh on the planet, she propped herself up on one of her elbows and thought for a moment.

"Jason Lee Scott is revered and respected throughout the ranks of Power Rangers that exist. As a leader, his merits were unquestionable, and his devotion to the power was almost unmatched. It's a little known fact though, that if not for him, the original Rangers wouldn't have become Rangers at all. He paved the way to the Power for humanity. As impressive as his Ranger status is though, his person status is just as impressive. He was a junior ambassador in Switzerland alongside Trini Kwan and Zack Taylor, and is currently one of the top martial arts instructors in the country. He carries a 7th degree Black Belt, and holds a professional undefeated streak. He's mastered various martial arts, and is considered to be a legal lethal weapon."

Well, that certainly wasn't an ego boost for him.

"Alrighty, what about Tommy?"

At that name, Jen blushed.

"Did you just blush!"

"NO!"

"Oh my god, you blushed! What? Was he your secret Ranger crush or something?"

He laughed it off as a joke, until he saw he blush gorw even darker. He stared at her for a moment, backing off so he could get a better view.

"Are you serious! Tommy was your secret Ranger crush! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Look, it's a really long story and I'd really rather not get into this!"

"No, unacceptable, I've GOT to hear this one!"

Leaning her head back, Jen moaned for a moment before coming back and wrapping her arms around his neck. Bringing him down to him, she gave him what was possibly one of the steamiest kisses he'd ever gotten from her, during it she'd uniquely managed to wrap herself around him in a way that was extremely getting him turned on.

Shaking his heard for a moment, and breaking their kiss at the same time, he pushed himself up from her and stared directly into her eyes.

"Nice try, but your not off of the hook. Explain."

"Arrgh, alright."

Pushing her self completely up, She sat down, right over his legs and started talking.

"I'd always known what I wanted to do when I grew up, in the same way that little boys know that they want to be a fireman. Some little girls dreamed of being princesses, others dreamed of corporate take over, but not me. I had bigger dreams than that."

"Yeah, you wanted to be a Power Ranger."

"…Not exactly."

Giving her a quizzical look, he noticed that she blushed again.

"You wanted to work with the Power Rangers, got lucky and become one instead?"

She shook her head again.

"Okay, I'm kind of lost here now."

Sighing, she buried her face and a pillow and said something that equated to a garble of noises and sounds for him.

"Babe, I have no idea what you said, but you looked hot while doing it."

Looking out from the pillow, she gave him what he termed 'the eye' before sighing again and composing herself a little.

"When I was a little girl I wanted to marry Tommy Oliver."

He froze. He just lay there, not really noticing much. It had seemed like a normal day, but there was no way what had just left Jen's mouth could have possibly, actually left Jen's mouth.

"…So when you were a little girl, you dreamed about marrying Tommy Oliver…" Honestly, he had no idea how he felt about this.

"Look, it's not entirely out of the question—in the future that's like saying that I wanted to marry Superman."

"Who wanted to marry Superman?" From the hallway that led to their living room from the entrance, both Eric and Taylor were walking in carrying bags in their arms. By the looks of it, they had gone shopping for lunch and dinner. The two of them were fully dressed; Eric was out of uniform since today was his day off—usually Wes would be on during this time, but when the two of them had let the Silver Guardians know what was going on, they had forced them to take an extended vacation so they could be ready for the upcoming event.

"Eric, you're not going to believe this: When Jen was a little girl she dreamed about marry Tommy."

For a moment Eric just stared at the two of them from the entrance that led to the kitchen, and then started laughing.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

As Wes shook his head, Eric only cracked up even more.

"What does that have to do with marrying Superman though?" Jen blushed at Taylors comment.

"Well, apparently in the future it's comparable to saying you want to marry Superman."

At that comment Eric's laughter cut off immediately.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second here. There's no way in hell you can compare marrying that color maniac to marrying Superman!"

Taylor looked at Eric and smirked.

"Well, why not?"

With an affronted look on his face, Eric walked into the kitchen real fast, put down the groceries and came back. In the meantime Wes had taken the time to sit up so he could have a better vantage point of everything.

"Why not! Because, Superman is the greatest fictitious superhero of all time! He's saved the world countless times, fought off countless enemies, mastered several different martial arts, could probably have a PhD if he wanted one, and leads the most powerful team of superheroes in all of fiction!"

Smiling over at Jen, Taylor gestured for Jen to speak.

"Well, not to bash Superman or anything, but Tommy in the future is considered to be the greatest Ranger of all time. He's really saved the world countless times, he mastered multiple forms of martial arts, is the patriarch behind the Toso Kune Do martial arts style, he has a PhD, and he led what's considered to be the most Powerful incarnation of Power Rangers. Along with that, he mentored his own generation of Power Rangers, created the Dino Gems, and is the only known individual to serve as long in a Ranger capacity as he did. He was four different colors, and seven different incarnations of Rangers." By this point, Eric and Taylor were just staring at Jen along with him.

"It should also be pointed out that at the age of 16 Tommy was already a 4th degree black belt, and during that time, as a single individual while he was the Green Ranger caused more havoc and destruction singlehandedly than any other single Ranger ever managed after him. He not only defeated the most powerful class of Rangers in history, but he also managed to completely destroy their Zords, and at one point he even defeated them in their Zords without having to use a Zord of his own. People have summarized that while Jason is the prime example of everything it is to be a Ranger, that Tommy is what is considered to be unachievable."

"Son of a bitch…" Taylor looked honestly impressed. Wes couldn't blame her, even he was impressed by the roll call of things Tommy had done. Thinking back to the Red Ranger mission, Wes could remember Tommy fighting. Unmorphed Tommy had looked to be almost completely unstoppable. While he was morphed, Wes had to admit that he'd never seen anything like it before. Every move the man made was so precise, he'd fought beside him against General Gerrok, and Gerrok hadn't stood a chance, but it wasn't because of Wes though. Tommy had completely destroyed him.

"Think anyone will be down to spar at that little get together they're hosting?"

"No doubt in my mind Eric. Wanna go at it for a little?"

"Yup."

Without even waiting on a response from either Jen or Taylor, both Eric and himself walked outside. No sooner than they were out, they began digging into each other.

How in the hell did you match someone that historians would later consider unattainable?

_Space  
Astro Megaship _

Zhane looked out of the window of his bedroom into the cold and endless depths of space. He'd traveled them so much in his lifetime, and still he was sure that he hadn't even seen a percentage of what that vast ocean of nothing had to offer. Beside him, he felt Karone shift and a small whimper escape her lips. The first time they had slept with one another he had woken her up, only to have her push him against the wall with a concealed blade against his throat. It had been a shock to say the least, and then she had burst out into tears. He'd since learned not to wake her up from her dreams; he'd call them nightmares himself.

Time had been working against the him recently, he and the man he considered his brother in all but blood. They had spanned countless places in space but still their search had turned up nothing. After awhile, he and Andros had decided to call it quits going out on random forays like that. They weren't doing anything but exhausting the two of them anyways.

No matter where they went or whom they contacted, no one had heard so much as a whisper of a William Cranston, or Billy in what seemed like forever.

So far, their closest nibble had been when they had contacted Eltar itself. The advanced and peaceful world had sent back a reply stating that they had not seen or heard from Billy since shortly after Eltar had been attacked. That had both frustrated and made Zhane's day. That meant that Billy hadn't been killed during Karone's assault on Eltar.

He'd spoken to her about the memories she had as Astronema—they weren't pleasant things to talk about. Memory took him back to times when, like now, the two of them had lain in bed with one another, her clutching onto him as she whispered one horror after another into his ear; and he listened. Countless hours of sleep had been listened away as she poured her heart out to him. There were times when she cried, others when she was furious, and still others where the only thing that seemed to be holding her together were his arms.

He remembered that he'd once offered to take away the pain she felt—one of the things that he was exceptionally good at was a form of healing on KO-35 that involved a sort of psychological drain from the patients mind. He'd go in and set up blocks around the memories that were causing trouble, and then slowly remove them. She had vehemently refused any such treatment, even though Andros had joined him in trying to take her into it.

_"Good or bad, these memories are my memoires! If people have to live the rest of their lives dealing with sorrow and loss because of what I did, then I live my life remembering each and every single thing that I did. My dreams and memories are the penance I pay for my role in their suffering!"_

She was braver than anyone else he had known. When she had become the pink Lost Galaxy Ranger in place of Kendrix, he had hoped that she would be able to make peace with herself that way, but even after that the memories plagued her.

Staring out into space, he must have missed when she woke up, cause her arms wrapped around him and squeezed him tightly.

"Usually I'm the one that spends the nights awake while you sleep them away…"

Staring intently into her eyes, there was still a slight shroud of memory covering them—he could always tell.

"I figured it was my turn to stare into the night this time."

Grasping onto him, she brought his head down to her and kissed him. For a moment, everything was forgotten. The only thing that existed was her, and she captivated his world; everything about her screamed perfection to him. Where once he'd had to search the universe for thrills and excitement, he finally found a woman whose arms and heart were strong enough to hold him.

Resurfacing to the world, he was panting. The passion and intensity he had for the woman laying beside him was beyond anything he had ever felt, and anything he would ever feel. They were able to connect on more levels than one. Drained of any excess energy she may have had, she rolled over and was quietly sleeping once more.

Even though their passions were enough to leave him exhausted, there was something about now that had him up. He didn't know what, he just was. Getting up from their bed as nimbly as possible, he put on his clothes and stepped out of their sleeping quarters.

Walking to the main deck of the Astro Megaship, he looked out at the endless bounds of space. For a moment, he saw the megaship as it used to be, with Carlos and T.J manning the night shift on guard duty just in case anything happened. He smiled at the phantom memory…and then something hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Deca, activate."

_"I am fully online Zhane."_

"Good, I'd like to run a search of the morphing grid."

"What for?" Turning around, Andros and Leo were walking in with cups of coffee in their hands.

"Well, all of the places we've been checking have been the extremely seedy, or extremely calm at Random, but I've never thought about searching for, and asking individual Rangers if they'd seen Billy or not. The Blue Centurion, Phantom Ranger, and Trey of Triforia may have seen him in the past few years, who knows? It'd be worth at least asking them about it."

The optimism in Zhane's face quickly disappeared as Andros face showed no reaction to what he had said.

"I'd thought of that a few days ago and did it already. Outside of Trey, who is on a diplomatic mission at the moment, The Phantom Ranger and Blue Centurion are both impossible to trace. The Blue Centurion may not even be around anymore, and as for the Phantom Ranger…well he didn't earn the nickname from us for no reason."

Zhane turned back towards the command post and looked at everything there. With all of the technological advancements in the world, a person as revered as one of Zordon's chosen had gone missing? From Eltar no less!

"Has anyone thought to question Alpha 5 on the matter?"

"Alpha 5 was decommissioned after Zordon's sacrifice. He'd served with his master for countless years, and after Zordon paid the ultimate price to help destroy the Alliance of Evil, Alpha decided that he would join Zordon in whatever exist after this life. The original Alpha was an, incredibly unique individual, and his connection and knowledge of the morphing grid were unmatched."

Zhane nodded his head before slamming his fist onto the edge of the main controls.

"I can't stand to see her like this Andros—even if she wasn't directly responsible for all of this, she still wants to take the blame for it."

"Believe me, there's nothing I want more than for this torment for Karone to be over. She's lived with it for seven years now, and has even served as a Ranger herself. We all bear scars from what we had to do back then though…"

Zhane nodded his head once in acknowledgement of what Andros had said. He'd lost around two years of his own life stuck in a cryotube due to that war, and had experienced the most shocking time of his life with the silver powers fading out whenever they wanted to. That had been nothing to what Andros had endured though.

"The two of you can go ahead and get some rest—I'll take over this watch for now. I'm not getting any sleep anyways."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." With that, Leo walked out of the room and most likely to his quarters with Kendrix. He and Leo had a bit of an interesting relationship—although Kendrix and Karone were the best of friends, Leo and himself were still in the civil stage with one another; Leo thought he was still a little too reckless.

"We're not the only ones looking Zhane—I'm pretty sure we'll uncover this; if we can't do it, then I'm positive that if those planetary rangers have to, they'll come out to space in full force."

With a little laugh, Zhane shot back,

"Yeah, I hear that they're good at adapting to space."

Andros smiled back at him as he walked out. Left to his own thoughts, Zhane stared into the emptiness that was space.

_Andros & Ashley's Quarters_

She missed him. Every time he wasn't in bed beside her, she missed him. Throughout the years, it was something that she had managed to grow used to, although she still didn't accept it when it had to happen. There had been a period of time where she hadn't been able to put up with him. Andros had always been extremely dedicated to his mission; even now when they hadn't faced an overly large threat in three years, he still kept himself vigilant.

Ashley had tried to be considerate of him at first. Tried to grasp the _why_ of what he did. She would constantly tell him that she understood whenever he and Zhane would leave to constantly put out fires. Without a question or a doubt, she would let him go off and fight, fight to keep the peace that Zordon's death had earned for them, but after awhile the missions grew tiring on her. It wasn't that she wanted to be seen as a selfish person; she believed they had served their terms though.

She had been apart of two teams, fought four major villains, and had served under two Red rangers. Although she hadn't undergone a color shift like some of the other Rangers had, she had devoted a good portion of her life to the cause. For two and a half years after their fight, she had continued the constant surveillance that Andros and Zhane kept between Earth and KO-35, staying beside him. But a lot of nights had been spent like this one—with an empty space in the bed beside her.

The arguments between the two of them started one night when he came back so exhausted and injured that she tried to convince him that it was time to stop. Andros had looked back at her, dead in the eyes and told her that this was his life. Before he had met her this had been his life.

After a few more times of this happening, she had told him that is wasn't a life that she could live; reaching out her hand to him, she had asked him if it would be possible for the two of them to settle down somewhere. It didn't matter if it was on Earth of KO-35, all the she had requested of him was the chance to make a life together.

They had stared at one another long and hard that night, as intently as she was staring out at space right now, before he had spoken words that had broken her heat.

_"I belong to this war. This is what I am, I thought you understood that…" Turning around he walked out of the room, but not before she heard him announce just as stoically as the first time she had met him, "Deca, set a course for planet Earth—while there we'll resupply and then make a circuit between Earth, Onyx, and KO-35."_

After he had dropped her off, Andros had left Earth and didn't return. While she had been on Earth, she had resumed life, although not as she had left it. Due to the fact that she had become what was known as a public identity Ranger, her status on her home world was equal to a celebrity's status. The Space Ranges had been the first Rangers ever to unmask themselves before the public, and so they were held in extreme regard.

Having lived aboard the Astro Megaship for most of the time that she had spent after their unmasking, she had never had to deal with being a publicly unmasked Ranger, but when she had finally gotten home to California, she had been shocked to see the result of what that meant. Luckily T.J and her former Turbo team members had been there for here when she returned to Earth and had helped guide her through all of the social subtleties that were involved with it.

Integrating back into a semblance of normalcy had been a little rough. She had decided that in order to get back on her feet that she was going to have to get to work on a number of things. Moving in with Cassie had been the perfect way to help her integrate back into human society. There were a lot of things that she wasn't used to as a planetary citizen anymore—primarily one of them was having to learn to cook. DECA was an amazing cook.

After having spent some time getting her affairs in order, she had taken T.J's advice and decided to lend her newfound fame to charitable fund raising on the Earth. Due to having been off world for so long, her fame carried with it a level of mystique for the large public who had already grown half way used to T.J, Carlos, and Cassie. When she had announced her intentions, investors flocked to use her image to make her fundraisers and charities a success—although at first she almost ended up in a few bad deals.

That was when she had met him. He was a 26-year-old black haired, blue-eyed charity head with a Masters in Business and a particular sense for scouting out bad deals. They had managed to meet a one of his charity functions, and Ashley had been absolutely enthralled by him. Unlike any other man that she had come into contact with, he was a one basically born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family came from money, and because that was something he had decided he never needed to worry about, he had devoted his life to helping others.

His name was Daniel Wellington, and for one reason or another the two of them ended up running into one another a lot over the next six months. It wasn't until the third month that Ashley had learned the reason they kept running into one another was due to the fact that Daniel had arranged for it to happen each and every single time. He courted her every time they spoke, continually asking after her and her work. Every now and again he would question her about her time as a Ranger, something she was still a little closed mouth about, but he didn't mind. The little dances and encounters they shared with one another were fun events that she began to truly enjoy.

When he finally asked her to deepen their relationship, there was apart of her heart, a very large part that had wanted to say no. But during the entire time that she had been back on Earth she hadn't seen or heard from Andros once. Deciding to let him live the life he wanted, she moved ahead and tried to make a bit of a life for herself. They dated seriously for another four months before he had finally decided to ask her to marry him. She had been shocked to say the least, but she had been happy and finally she was settling into a life that she thought she was supposed to have. Out of impulse, and because it seemed like any girl would be crazy to turn her down, she said yes.

Her life, for a moment, looked to be going in any girls dream. Everything around her was going so well, and her friends were so happy for her.

Every now and again, she would take notice of the Ranger news going on around the world. She had noticed that a new group of Rangers had popped up in Turtle Cove and had once in awhile seen them in action on the news, but had never paid special mind to it, until a few days before her wedding was going to take place. T.J was supposed to have come to the rehearsal dinner, but he had been unable to make it.

She hadn't managed to find out the reason why until after the fact. Having decided to walk to the single apartment she had rented a few months back when she was comfortable enough to not be living with Cassie anymore, she walked into her apartment to find Andros in her living room in the middle of leaving a note on her table.

_Stone Canyon,  
2002  
Residence of Ashley Hammond_

She had no idea what to feel. He was standing here right in front of her; a little worse for wear, but out of his hand a letter had just dropped to the table right beside a single yellow rose. He chest constricted on her, and her breathing increased. It had been almost an entire year since the last time she had seen him, but here he was, in the flesh, standing right in front of her. His hair had gotten longer, but the unique double shade of it looked exactly as she remembered it.

His eyes stared directly into hers, and she couldn't help but sense everything that was in them. She had never given up the lessons he had taught her, and her powers had since enhanced to a level that rivaled a person from KO-35. Not to mention that she had never once forgotten the link that she shared with him, instantly her mind reacted and reconnected with his almost immediately—almost as if it had been drowning. He cut the connection quickly, and she physically recoiled as if she'd been slapped.

Trying to speak, her voice seemed lost to her for a moment before finally she found it and managed to squeeze out, "What are you doing here?"

He stood there, avoiding her eyes and turning to her window. Outside she caught a glimpse of his glider waiting for him. Looking to his right wrist, she saw his morpher on it, at the ready.

"I didn't think you would be here. T.J told me you had a rehearsal dinner to be at, so it seemed like the perfect time to drop this off. I'm sorry…"

Turning away from her before she could speak again, he jumped out of the window and landed on his glider, taking off immediately before she could even reach the window. Her eyes stung as tears fell from them. Reaching up she wiped away her tears before walking over to where he had placed the letter he had left. Looking at the incriminating evidence he'd left behind of his presence here in her world, she picked it up and considered burning it for a moment.

Unable to process the thought of doing that she broke the seal holding the contents inside and saw the letter within. It was written in his oddly orderly handwriting:

_I'm sorry for everything that happened. I couldn't give you the life you wanted, and I've never regretted something more in my life than I have that. I can't escape this war, this is what fate has dealt me, and it's my duty as a survivor to make sure that what happened to Karone and myself never happens to anyone else. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding; I'll hate the man because he isn't me, but love him all the same if he makes you smile. _

_Andros_

Tears unbidden fell from her eyes streaming down her face. The single rose he'd left her signified so many things; it was everything he had never been able to give her, and every promise Andros had never made. For some reason, what she had learned about the meanings behind roses came to mind; the meaning behind giving a single rose was the utmost devotion to whatever the color signified. One of the yellow roses specifications was _Remember Me, _along with another one of the specifications being _friendship_. She smiled through her tears as they continued falling; even as she picked up the rose that he'd left behind, the letter being replaced by it.

It could also mean the promise of a new beginning, but she highly doubted that; jealousy was another meaning behind this color. She knew all of those, but she doubted he did. The irony of it all was that the only one he did know was the one she had told him. She had never liked yellow roses, even if it was her color, however while they had be on a walk during their time on earth at some point she had taken one and given it to him, telling him that Yellow roses signified the message _I care_.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she stood up and ran out of her door. She didn't know why she was running, he was long gone by now, but the thought of staying in her apartment for another minute almost made her feel like she was going stir crazy.

Running out of the doors and onto the street, the skies promised rainfall from before initiated moments later, and the torrential downpour blocked her views of the skies. There wasn't a trace of him anywhere to be seen, and even though she had a mild thought of calling out for him, she couldn't find her voice to do so. Looking back at the inside of her building, she stepped back in and closed the door behind her.

She was soaked to the bone, water was dripping off of her in surprising amounts; she didn't care. Walking up the stairs to her apartment, she opened the door.

He was standing there. Water falling off of him as well, his hair was sticking to his face, and his clothes were drenched. He looked directly at her this time, no more evading looking at her, and his breathing wasn't the normal and regulated calm and controlled event that it normally was. Everything about him was uncharacteristically out of order.

Standing in her doorway, she stared at him. Thunder cracked loudly in the background, and lightning brightened the room for a moment. She stood there, looking at him while he looked at her. Her voice was still lost to her, and even though she tried to say something, tried to get her mind to articulate something, nothing happened.

Her frustration at her own inability to speak incited a mild rage in side of her, and she felt a little lucky that she was drenched, at least he couldn't tell that some of the water falling off of her face wasn't from the rain.

"f-fuck you and your a-apology…" She spoke soft at first, unsure if he had heard her, her voice breaking and barely audible to her own ears. Her lips trembled as she said it, and her hands balled at her sides. His face stayed the same, and her body tensed up.

"Fuck you and your apologies!" she repeated, walking towards him, unable to contain herself. Acting on impulse, she pulled her hand back, slapping him with everything she had in her. Andros took it full on, knocked a little back by it, but just stood there and took it.

"What gives you the right to apologize? Who said I even wanted one from you…" All over again her heart was breaking over him. The time she had spent on the megaship back to Earth after their talk coming to her again. She hadn't even seen him when she left; Zhane and Karone had been the ones to help her off.

Tears streamed from her eyes easily, more than before, and it became overly apparent that she was crying. Frustration tinged her anger, the fact that she was crying over him again got to her.

"I couldn't leave you again…" His voice shattered her composure, and before she knew what she was doing, she was reaching up to him, her arms wrapping around him, pulling his head down to her. For this first time in what felt like an eternity, her lips met his. Surprisingly, this wasn't like any of their other kisses. Andros passion had always been controlled, tempered, but like his emotions, it was always regulated—his culture ingrained this in him.

When their lips met, they hungrily devoured hers. There was no composure here, and no sooner did their lips meet than did he reach out to her, his mind no longer barricading itself from her. Her mind enveloped his, drinking in the storm of emotions that came pouring out from him. She felt the loss he'd felt when she walked out of his life before, experienced the days where he'd lived only a half existence as he saw it, tormented by thoughts of her, plagued by the guilt that he'd driven away.

As the flood of both his mind and body overtook her, she released herself to his control. Finally, he was opening up to her completely, holding nothing back, and so she did the same. Showing him all he doubt and trepidations wasn't easy. The insecurities that she had developed over their time apart trying to throw up walls in between them, but he wouldn't be denied her.

He showed no apprehension in how he had spent the last year feeling, and there was a sense of both relief and urgency to him that she didn't understand. After a moment though, she stopped trying to understand him and lost herself in him, as he did in her. She buried herself in her excavated passion for him. He'd dug it out of her, just like she'd discovered it in him.

Time passed and coherency faded from every thought that she possessed. The world that existed away from the two of them vanished for her, and didn't resurface for some time, although once she did resurface to it, it was in his arms. She almost had no idea where she was—outside the storm raged, but she was aware of his calm breathing right next to her. Aside from that she realized that she was sore—covering her eyes with her hands, she couldn't help almost agonizingly chuckle at the situation.

Trying to get up, she found that she was completely exhausted, and Andros's arm was wrapped around her. Looking over at him, his eyes were closed, and she couldn't help but smile down at his face. Pushing some of her hair out of her face, she laid he head back down next to his and found her self staring into his eyes.

Reaching up with one of his hands, he moved an idle strand of hair that she'd missed out of her face, and she closed her eyes at his touch.

"I can't leave you again…"

_—_

And he never did. It had been a slight controversy, what with her about to be married to another guy, but through it all, he'd never left her. Smiling at just the memory of it, Ashley loved the feel as his arms enveloped around her. Andros had walked into the room while she was remembering those days, coming in at what she considered one of her favorite memories of him.

They had never officially been married, KO-35 didn't have a set system of it, and Andros wasn't registered with any state or country on earth. But that proclamation of him never being able to leave her had been enough. Smiling, she turned her head around and captured his lips. The connection they shared mentally had only grown stronger, and they never bothered to hide anything from one another—whenever they were together, alone, they became enraptured with one another, and it became hard to distinguish who was who at times. She absolutely loved it.

"It looks like everyone is thinking about the past tonight…"

She already knew what was bothering him, and she didn't have to say it. Karone had confided in her about everything; she was always more than aware that anything she told Ashley made it's way to Andros almost as soon as they were in the same room with one another. Andros had taken point from that conversation and backed off a little, knowing that Karone needed space.

"It'll work itself out, maybe when we get to Earth you can have Karone talk to Tommy…" At that thought, she felt Andros chuckle.

"She has her older brother, her sister, her lover, and her former leader on the megaship right now, you really think she needs a legendary ranger to talk to?"

Relaxing into him, she wrapped around him and just enjoyed the feel of her own little slice of peace in the universe.

"Be that as it may, none of us can really understand what she's going through—from what T.J's told me about him, he will. Not to mention that Billy's leader, he may be able to console her some over it."

She could feel his eyes looking at her.

"You've got a point, I'll talk to him about it when we get there."

"See, I can still surprise you every now and again."

She felt his smile more than saw it.

_Turtle Cove  
Wild Sanctuary_

"It always amazes me, the view you can get out here." Alyssa saw Cole nod his head as she spoke. Once again they were lying on their backs looking up at the stars. The night was cooler than she had expected, and so she was wearing one of Cole's jackets. Breathing in, she smiled, it smelled like him.

Ever since he had gotten that phone call, she had been coming over here much more frequently than she had been—after all, she had impulsively requisitioned for a month off from the school. Surprisingly, they had given it to her without a second thought.

For the past few days, she had been driving out here daily. Max and Danny were staying and Kendall's parents place and spending some time with them while they were in town. Every now and again Merrick would make his way over here, but he'd since picked up right where he'd left off at with Willie at his place. Although she's missed all of them while they were gone, she was glad that they weren't constantly hanging around here. …To be honest she had been hoping that they wouldn't do that.

"It's one of the reasons I came back here. I slept under a lot of skies while I was traveling, but there was something about this one that I've always found to feel like home."

She nodded at Cole, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Somehow though, he always knew whenever she made those small nods.

"I've always wondered why you came back Cole," Getting up on one of her elbows, she turned her body on its side and looked at him. His arms were behind his head, holding it up while he looked at the stars, although he gaze averted from them to her when she asked her question.

"Not that I question it or anything, but there so many placed you could have gone to set up the Wild Sanctuary—why did you choose this place."

Looking back up at the stars, Cole smiled.

"The sky wasn't the only thing that felt like home…I've felt tied to this place ever since I left—even when I visited my old tribe, I didn't have the feeling of returning home. When I came back here, everything felt right—everywhere else it just felt like I was visiting, so when I decided to open this place, I wanted to do it somewhere that I didn't plan to leave."

Alyssa looked at him, a little shocked to be honest. She never thought he actually thought that much about his reasoning's behind much of what he did. It wasn't that she considered him a careless person in the least; it was just that he never seemed the type to worry over the idea of home, or where to find it. She smiled at the thought that Cole felt at home enough here to know that he would never leave.

Over the past few days, she'd admitted to herself that she'd, somewhere along the way, fallen for her helpless leader. Lying back down on her back, she shifted in the jacket he'd given her, making herself more comfortable in it. Although she'd been able to admit it to herself, admitting it to Cole was another thing entirely, and as they were sitting there, she couldn't help but slightly blush at her happiness of having him so close.

"You know, when I asked Randall where I could find Cole tonight, I didn't think I would be interrupting a date."

Jumping up, Alyssa turned her body so that she could see who was walking towards them. Although it was nighttime, she thought she saw Cole fluster a bit before getting up.

"I didn't think you'd be coming by tonight Taylor, is Eric with you?" Alyssa blushed as Taylor walked up to them. She was incredibly happy it was night; otherwise the other two would have seen how red her face was.

"No, unfortunately my boy blunder is currently recovering from the self inflicted beating he and Wes put on each other. They've got it into their heads with this reunion thing coming up to be in tip top shape. It's actually why I came over here. Did you get the call?"

As she was moving to stand up, Cole reached out with his hand and helped her up. Although she was greateful for it, Alyssa was also very aware of Taylor's eyes on them. She was still blushing, but she knew that Taylor had roughly the same eyesight as her and so at most they were able to make out the basic features of one another.

"Yes! Jason called me and I was lucky enough to have Max, Danny, and Alyssa here with me whenever I got the call."

"Well, isn't that fortunate. Jen and Wes had to go dig up the rest of their team; as usual Eric didn't bother helping out with that." Alyssa knew as soon as Taylor's attention was away from Cole. She could feel the smirk that was on her face at the moment.

"Alright then, I was just coming to check and see if everything was going according to plan, it was a bit of a drive here from the Silver Hills though, think I can crash at your place Alyssa?"

Sighing a little she nodded as the former second in command of the team smiled back at her.

"If you don't mind Cole, I'll be stealing Alyssa away from you for the rest of the night. We'll swing by tomorrow to go catch breakfast or something, alright?"

"No problem! See you tomorrow Alyssa!"

Without even a choice in the matter, Alyssa followed Taylor as they walked back out to the entrance of the Wild Sanctuary.

"Hey Taylor, do you want to just leave your car here and pick it up in the morning? My apartment isn't too far away from here, and no one ever comes out here unless they have a reason."

Unfortunately, although there weren't any lights or manmade things in the Wild Sanctuary, there were lights in the entrance to it, and so she was more than privy to the smirk that Taylor was shooting her way.

"Ahh, so you have a reason for coming here." She wasn't able to hide her blush in the dark this time around, and Taylors smirk stayed in place.

"I thought so. We can take your car."

The drive back to her place felt like an eternity as Alyssa drove back. Taylor was looking out the window the entire time, drinking in Turtle Cove. The entire way back, Taylor didn't say much, except to reference that she needed to come back to Turtle Cove more.

When they arrived at her place, Taylor got out of the car and stretched.

"Man, even though it's only a five hour drive here from the Silver Hills, it's still a long drive. Although I think Wes and Eric are happy that there's that much distance between the Silver Hills and Angel Grove—after all, being only 40 miles away from ground zero doesn't always do so well for Turtle Cove does it?"

Not knowing how to answer that question, Alyssa nodded and led Taylor to her apartment door. Opening it and welcoming her inside, Taylor took off the black leather jacket she was wearing and laid it down on her couch as she sat down on it.

"Now, tell me when all of this started." The look on Taylor's face left no doubt on what she was talking about.

"When all of what started?"

"Don't play coy with me, unlike the rest of the team, I don't have a Y chromosome floating around it me. I'm all x's Alyssa."

She hated the fact that she couldn't help but blush at that statement.

"You know, that sounds worse than you probably mean it to."

Taylor laughed at that, he head falling back a little.

"Well look at that, so you can make big girl jokes, and here I thought you were little miss innocent." Alyssa couldn't help it, she pouted at that.

"Don't take it personally, I'm just messing with you. By the way, I love the fact that you grew your hair out, although you and Cole seem to be following trends with one another." Hanging her head, Alyssa knew she might as well talk.

"A few days ago I ended up accidentally spending the night in the Wild Sanctuary and slept with Cole." Urgh! It was so annoying that she couldn't stop blushing at this subject! Accepting that she'd fallen for Cole was one thing, but talking about it with ANYONE was a completely different thing.

Although from the look on Taylors face, something didn't come out right.

"…Honestly I didn't think you had it in you." Realizing what she had said, she grabbed one of her pillows on the couch and buried her face in her, let out a little aggravated squeal.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Hey, I'm not judging you. He does have that whole wild man thing going on."

"All we did was sleep! I literally mean I slept with him."

Taylor smirked at that.

"Poor Cole was probably blue balling the entire night!"

Looking back up at Taylor, Alyssa couldn't stop the continuous blush from being on her cheeks, and as soon as Taylor saw that, she started laughing again.

"Alright, alright Ms. Innocent, I'll cut back on the lewdness a little."

"Not everyone thinks about those kinds of things all the time…"

Idly looking up at the ceiling, Taylor shot back with,

"Alyssa, the people you spend all your time around don't spend their time thinking about sex because they're all prepubescent and haven't gotten away from thinking the other sex is icky yet."

Taking the knock against her chosen professional gently, Alyssa laid down on her couch.

"Did you come here to torture me?"

"No, I really did come to make sure that Cole didn't screw up getting that call."

Looking over at Taylor with an annoyed look on her face, Alyssa responded with,

"He's not as helpless as all that Taylor."

"Right, right, I'll be sure not to knock our fearless leader, and your ever beloved again. Although you do have to admit that he's a little naïve. After all, what 23 year od guy in his right mind has a night with a girl like you alone in the wilderness and actually sleeps? Were the two of you at least spooning when you woke up?" Her blush gave her away!

"I thought so, at least he has some tact."

"More than you!"

"Ah, so the white, pure as snow Ranger actually has some teeth. I was wondering if your tiger had any bite to it."

Burying her face in her pillow again, Alyssa spoke to her through it.

"You have the finesse of a blunt edge Taylor."

"At least I'm not afraid to tell the guy I like that I want to grind his bones. Actually, I did so this morning."

Looking up, Alyssa looked straight at Taylor.

"You said that to Eric!"

Laughing Taylor shook her head.

"No, why would I say that to Eric?"

Sighing in relief, Alyssa was calming down from the mild shock that had caused when Taylor said,

"I meant that I grinded his bones."

And any hope of keeping a civil mind in all of this went out of the window.

"Come on Alyssa, what are you? Five?"

"I'm just not used to talking about this?"

Sitting up a little, Taylor looked at her from across the room.

"Wait a minute, now that I think about it, I never saw you around any guys…have you never had a boyfriend before?"

She shook her head the slightest bit.

"When I was younger I was always busy helping my dad with his Dojo, and then the whole Ranger thing happened, and college, I never found the time."

"If you went to college how did you never find the time?"

"I was always busy studying."

Taylor spared a glance at her as if she was missing something extremely obvious.

"Honestly, I don't get some of you guys. Like Max and Danny. If not for Kendall, I almost had the two of them pegged as hot for each other."

Alyssa's eyes widened at that.

"Oh, come off it, I'm only joking! And you guys wonder why I rarely come around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wes and Jen have walked in on Eric and I multiple times, and yes, when I say walk in, I mean they caught us having sex." Alyssa was blushing again, hardcore. If she ever walked in on someone, she would die.

"And that exactly right there is the opposite of what they do. We get surprised, a little angry, and then we make an inside joke about it. And new house rules so that we can keep it from happening."

Alyssa nodded, although she wasn't able to look Taylor in the eyes.

"Look! You can't even look at me without blushing right now!" She shook her head now and Taylor exhaled as if she were holding a big giant breath in.

"So, what did you think you were going to do with Cole when Mr. Naiveté finally caught all the hints you were throwing at him? Hold hands?"

Alyssa wasn't able to answer. Her mom had passed away when she was younger, and so she had never been around a couple consistently—nor did she have Taylor's experience of being around a lot of guys who treated her like an equal. Due to her father running a Dojo and being a renowned Martial Artist, every guy she was ever around always treated her differently.

"I don't know, I've never thought that far ahead!"

"You know there's nothing wrong with thinking or talking about sex. We're adults, it's what we do. It's one of the reasons Eric and I get along so well. We knew what we wanted from one another, and fortunately once we got that from one another, somewhere along the way I fell in love with Mr. Sensitivity."

Looking over at Taylor Alyssa blinked.

"What, don't tell me you thought I was just some slut who was shacking up with him." She quickly shook her head no at that.

"I've just never heard you reference that you were in love with him."

"Well, that's the bane of it, although we got together because we both wanted to sleep with the other, we ended up fitting together perfectly. It works out well having Jen and Wes around too—although it can get annoying when we catch each other, we've all grown into one small screwed up family."

Alyssa nodded at that. The idea of it all sounded nice—all of it. Even though she was internally want to squeal and blush about it all, she couldn't help but think what that kind of relationship and friendship would be like. All her life, even with her fellow Rangers, it had always been good clean fun, but hearing how Taylor talked about it all, it sounded so…appealing.

"Is it always like that?"

Looking back at her, Taylor shrugged her shoulders.

"Sometimes we get on one another's nerves, but overall I'm really happy to have Jen and Wes around. The two of them are interesting to watch, since every time Jen comes into the room, Wes looks at her like it's the first time he's ever seen her. Eric and I aren't that cheesy, but I can understand where Wes is coming from whenever he does that. Eric told me how it got kind of bad when she left him to go back to the future originally. Her staying after they helped us out solidified an amazing future for the two of them."

Alyssa nodded and decided that she wanted to get to know those two more than she did now. Taylor had surprised them all when she moved to the Silver Hills, but from what it was sounding like, she fit better over there than she ever did here. It was all so…adult; in more ways than one.

"Do you think Cole and I could ever have a relationship like that?" It came out as a whisper, and she knew that she was about to address a major issue she had. All jokes aside, Cole was an extremely naive individual.

"How so?"

"Well, Cole isn't the most informed individual. With all the jokes that are made about him, he honestly is that person he appears to be, and ever since…Well, I've just been wondering if he's even capable of a relationship like that…of a relationship with me beyond a friendship."

Although Taylor was the most distant from the team whenever you excluded Merrick, she had still been their leader for a while before Cole showed up, and so Alyssa knew that she really did genuinely care about all of them. Confiding in her this insecurity took a lot from Alyssa though. She usually wasn't this forward with a person, but maybe that was the reason that she never managed to create lasting bonds with anyone outside of Cole—his innocence and her shyness worked hand in hand with one another.

"I don't know to be honest. He was always strange and completely different from me; I say take a shot at it though. With this whole Ranger Reunion coming up, there are going to be plenty of chances for the two of you to be together, so start spending time with him. If nothing else, we can have Wes, Eric and the other Red Rangers start dropping hints. And while you may never have a relationship like mine—I just don't see either one of you being that kinky, I can see the two of you having something pretty awesome."

Alyssa nodded at that.

"Alright, enough girl talk, where do I sleep?"

Smiling Alyssa got up.

"Are you one of those guest where I have to let you sleep on my bed while I sleep on the floor?"

"Nope, you can sleep in the bed with me. I'll show you how to make Cole sweat the next time you end up spooning with him." And with that she almost tripped while walking to her bedroom. Taylor's laugh flowed back from her room.

_Mariner Bay_

_Greyson/Mitchell Residence_

Carter looked over at his future bother in law as he made the next move over the chessboard. The friendship the two of them had built the past couple of years had honestly managed to surprise Carter to no end. Ryan's integration back into a normal society had been a little bit hard at first, since he'd been raised around nothing but demons. His entire life he'd grown up with a slight hatred for his father and sister, and because of that his ability to trust people was hindered. Building a friendship with him had been hard.

Now, sitting here on his porch with the night sky out enjoying a beer with his former subordinate and current best friend, he honestly thought that Ryan was doing a fantastic job of getting back into the swing of things.

After the two of them had left behind their Ranger days, they had both moved into civil services. Carter had naturally gone back to being a fireman-although a bit more celebrated than he wanted to be. Due to Ryan's absence and credibility on paper though, it had been hard for him to find anything that he could do. Luckily Mr. Mitchell used a few connections he had and managed to get Ryan a job as with Mariner Bay Police Department. All round, it seemed like it was a good fit, and Ryan's sharp reflexes, both mentally a physically were very well suited to the job. There was already some talk going around about him trying out for a Detective position. Although it was silly to have a bit of pride over it, whenever Dana had heard about it, she had been absolutely beaming with joy over that. And something that made her that proud and happy always rubbed off on him. Smiling as Ryan made his move, Carter took a look at the board while taking a swig from his beer.

"So this big reunion coming up, any idea what it's going to be like?"

Looking up from the board, Carter looked at Ryan with a bit of surprise on his face.

"No clue, all I know is that Dana has been periodically keeping in touch with Dr. Kwan on the specifics. Apparently the original team wants to pay some homage to each team or something."

"They sound like a bunch of outstanding citizens."

Carter couldn't help but laugh at that comment.

"I wouldn't take them so lightly, there are two on that team, one in particular, that I think you may find very interesting, and even impressive."

Looking up and raising an eyebrow at that comment, Ryan motioned for him to continue talking, while doing so, he chose his move on the board.

"The original leaders of that team, Jason is one impressive individual—but I think you'll have a little more in common with Tommy than you would expect."

"How so?"

Although he knew Ryan's past was a delicate topic with him, they had developed enough of a friendship over the years that he didn't feel the need to ever cut corners with him.

"The both of you apparently have very similar origins as Rangers."

That caught Ryan's attention, although he emptied his beer before he spoke.

"How's that?"

With a little chuckle, Carter motioned for him to move a piece, and he did.

"I forget that you knowledge of recent history isn't as complete as it should be. During the time when the original Rangers appeared, there was a period when Angel Grove went through some pretty dark times. And it was all due to the appearance of the first sixth ranger."

Moving his piece quickly, Ryan kept his attention on Carter.

"So?"

Taking a breath he continued.

"When the Green Ranger first showed up, people thought he was another Ranger to add to the others, but they soon found out differently. I don't know all the specifics of it, but apparently Tommy—who was the Green Ranger, had been placed under a spell. Singlehandedly he brought both Angel Grove and the Power Rangers to their knees."

Ryan's interest was completely hooked as Carter made his move on the chess set.

"What happened?"

"Well, the news reports out of Angel Grove were catastrophic. There was a rising death toll going up every day, property damage was in the millions already, and everyone was powerless to do anything, even the Rangers of the then time. Apparently in a sortie they had with the Green Ranger—without a Zord of his own, he managed to destroy theirs, while also disconnecting them from the mentor that had been guiding them back then."

From the look on his face, Ryan was impressed.

"So what ended up happening?"

"The Rangers faced off against him one final time, all 5 of them against him. They almost lost, but Jason took the task of fighting Tommy all on his own. I hear the battle between the two of them is something of a legend in Angel Grove, and Ranger history in general. In the end with the help of his team, and due to the fact that Tommy wasn't evil at heart, Jason managed to strike a power blow, destroying what had been controlling Tommy. He could have killed him in that moment, but he decided to spare his life since it wasn't actually Tommy doing everything, but the witch controlling him."

Ryan nodded and stared into the chessboard, thinking. Looking over to the left and inside the house, he could see Dana staring out at them. He knew that she had been listening to this litter history lesson, and knew that she would also be curious to see what kind of reaction Ryan would have to it.

"What did he do after all of that?"

Sitting back and getting comfy in his chair, Carter looked over Mariner Bay. There was a reason he'd chosen this place with Dana whenever they had gone hunting for a spot to live it. It had the perfect view over the city.

"At first he thought about fading into the background and giving up his Ranger powers. His teammates convinced him not to do that. Eventually though, the Green Powers—which had been created by that witch I was talking about earlier, were taken from him by her."

"Sounds like a shitty end."

Carter laughed at that and Ryan looked up at him cause of it.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, it's just funny you talked about that being the end of it. It was actually the beginning for him."

"He lost his powers though."

"True, but when a new enemy showed up to strengthen the Witch's side, the Rangers were severely in need of a help. To that end, their mentor, Zordon—who's the entity that made it possible for Rangers to exist on Earth, decided that it was time to make a new Ranger, whose Powers were on par with what the Green Rangers had been. When it came time to choose someone to grant those powers to, he chose Tommy as the new White Ranger and also chose him as the leader of the team, replacing Jason."

Making his move, Ryan looked up at Carter. Although he wasn't smiling, he could tell that Ryan found it some how enlightening.

"Two colors, not too bad."

"That's not the half of it."

With Ryan raising a brow at him, Carter continued.

"After the witch's brother showed up and destroyed their Zords, they needed a new power Source, and so Tommy led them to find new powers—although they didn't change much on the outside, they did gain unique identities when they became the Ninjetti Rangers who used their own souls to become Rangers. Tommy stayed the White Ranger, but instead of a Tiger Zord, he gained a Falcon Zord."

"Sounds like one hell of a guy."

"Yeah, he's an…impressive individual to say the least."

"You've met him?"

Nodding, Carter finished of his beer and put the bottle beside him, while motioning for Ryan to hurry up and move.

"When I went to do that Red Ranger mission a few years back."

"I thought that was only reds?"

"Who do you think organized us?"

With a little bit of confusion Carter couldn't help the laugh this time.

"To get it out of the way and speed things up, Tommy's the only Ranger to ever serve as long as he has. He's been four different colors, and 7 different types of Rangers. In order though, his colors go from Green, White, Red, and then Black. In that though, he was a Red Ranger twice, and then he passed on the torch to T.J, the really famous Blue Space Ranger—he was also the Red turbo Ranger after Tommy."

"If he passed on his powers after being the first red turbo Ranger, how did he become a black Ranger?"

"This is when we reach recent history, something even you're aware of."

"What's that?"

"You know those Rangers that popped up in Reefside last year?"

"Yeah."

"They were Tommy's team. He created the powers they used; he mentored, recruited, and guided them through everything. From what I hear, he also ended up stepping back into the uniform as their Black Ranger and served as help whenever they needed it."

Ryan looked up at Carter a little shocked.

"Doesn't he have a life outside of the whole Ranger gig?"

"Well, he does have a PhD in Paleontology, and is currently a teacher at Reefside High, which is how he met the Dino Thunder Rangers of Reefside. I don't know too much aside from that though. He only keeps us all updated whenever he remembers to."

"Shit."

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

"Anyone ever kicked his ass?"

"Give it a shot when you see him at this reunion, it is his team putting it together after all."

"How good of a fighter is he?"

Carter thought back to the Red Ranger mission and looked back out at the City. He had always wondered how much better Tommy would have done leading the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers…

"I'll make sure Dana brings her medical file on you."

_Wind Ninja Academy_

"Dude, I don't think I'll be able to sleep until this reunion happens."

He wished Dustin would shut up about this already, but this was all he had been talking about ever since his father had let out that they would be going to this Ranger reunion. Learning that Dr. Oliver and his original team had been the original Rangers of earth had surprised Cameron to his core. Although he had always wondered how much his father knew about the origins of their power, he was about to be introduced to a number of individuals that had been directly mentored by the practical source of their power.

"You'll be able to sleep, I promise you, and there's a lot of time between here and there."

Walking past the various Dojos' that existed here in the Wind Ninja Academy, Cam kept looking for Shane. There was really nothing to do today, and if he had to spend his time around someone, it might as well have been Shane—after all, ever since he'd learned he'd be meeting the original Red Ranger, he'd been oddly pumped up about it.

"Yeah, but won't it be weird meeting all of them? I mean, some of you guys didn't even think they really existed—and then to find out that not only did they exist, but that we'd been around the most legendary ranger of all time? How trippy is that?"

"Yes, it was pretty trippy."

From down the hall, he could hear the sounds of people in a room, training from what he heard. Speeding up his walk, Dustin sped up to keep pace with him.

"So, have we gotten any information on where this thing is going to be at?"

Now there was a question worth asking.

"From what I've been told by my father, everything on the logistics side of it is being taken care of by the originals, and they haven't told us where it's going to be, however they did forward along that we wouldn't have to worry about any travel expenses, or room fee's, or basically anything like that."

And that impressed Justin, hell—that impressed him. He wasn't exactly sure how they were all able to pull that off, but it was impressive to say the least.

"Well, that's nice of them."

Finally they were coming up on the room that he had heard the training coming from. On looking inside, he saw Hunter and Shane going at it in a sparing match. The two of them were the pride of both schools. Shane was an impressive individual, since when he had first shown up, Cam had little to no faith in his ability as a Ninja. Hunter had been born to be one, and both of them had managed to rise up to be on par with him. It wasn't a boast though—that just came with having been born in the Ninja academy, and raised around it his entire life.

When they saw Cameron enter, the two of them stopped midstride and looked over at him and Dustin.

"How's it going you two?"

Nodding over at Shane, Cam stepped onto the sparring mats and walked over to the two of them.

"It's going, although things seem kind of dead around here—what are the two of you up to?"

Hunter looked up a bit sheepishly.

"Well, we figured since this whole Ranger Reunion thing was about to happen, that we wanted to be in tip top shape for when it does. After all, even though the Dino Thunder Rangers are technically the rookies, I have a feeling that due to who their mentor is, they've got an immediate 'in' pass with almost any Ranger team out there, especially the originals."

Cameron nodded at that. Having been trained by Tommy personally, the Dino Thunder Rangers definitely had an in that none of the other teams had.

"How long have the two of you been going at it? The both of you look worn out."

"Ever since evening classes ended."

Well, that was impresses. From what Shane had just let loose, they had been at each other now for almost two hours.

"Have either of you seen Tori or Blake?"

"Oh, I have!" Dustin raised his hand as they all looked at him.

"Last time I saw them, they were heading to the movies. I think they were on a date."

"So he finally gathered up all the guts to ask her out, I was wondering if he was ever going to get around to doing that." Looking over at Hunter, Shane shrugged his shoulders.

"So, why are the Dino Thunder Team and us the only ones who got gipped out of a female Ranger?"

"How do you make that out Dustin?"

"Well, from what Sensei told us, Yellow and Pink are traditionally female colors, so why wasn't there another female Ranger?"

"Because you took Yellow."

"That's cold Shane."

_Reefside  
1992 Valencia Dr_

_Residence of _

_Dr. Thomas Oliver_

Tommy was standing outside looking at the forest that grew behind his house. Above the treetops, he could see the stars staring at him through the night sky; one thing he hated about being a scientist was the knowledge that the stars he was looking at right now probably didn't even exist anymore. That was a bit of a morose thought to think on.

It was late into the night, somewhere around 3:00 AM. Somehow, all of the guys had ended up staying at his place. When they had gotten back here, both his current and former teammates decided to spend the evening getting to know one another. Oddly enough, Conner hadn't immediately gone to talk to Jason like Tommy though he would have. Instead Zack's similar nature, and natural sense of finesse had Conner completely in his camp. Rocky gravitated to that group as well, while Ethan had decided to hang out with Adam and got to know the former black ranger better. It wasn't surprising, since Adam was probably the most appealing personality to him here. What did surprise him the most was the conversation that had developed between Trent and Jason.

Of all of his students, even though Conner had proved himself to Tommy on multiple occasions, Tommy had always felt that Trent was the protégé that he was closest to. After all, there was a lot that the two of them had in common; some things you had to have someone who had experienced it in order to have them understand you. Initially, Tommy had always wondered why Jason had never taken that final shot as a killing one. He knew back then that even though he had been under Rita's control that he had deserved to die; it's what he himself would have done then if it had been him in Jason's shoes.

Luckily for him, Jason had saw fit to wound him enough to disconnect him from the Sword of Darkness and free him, instead of just killing him. How it would have been explained to his mother and father, he would never know; thankfully it hadn't come down to that. That pivoting point had become a major turning point in Tommy's life. It had led him from being a lone wolf teenager, to being involved in a grouping of friends that helped and supported one another. It took him from an unknown path in life, and placed him on a path that he would have never imagined for himself in a thousand years.

Looking out at the stars, it still felt weird knowing that he'd been out there; Rangers from Earth were out there right now. A legacy that had started with the team here on Earth that he had been apart of now benefitted much more. Three galaxies owed a lot to the Rangers of Earth; and he himself owed a lot that original team of teenagers with attitude—if not for their faith in him, if not for Jason's belief that he could become a different person than he was then, he wouldn't be here right now.

The back door to his house opened up, although there was no need for Tommy to turn around and look who was coming out to talk to him. Although the other members of the various teams' he'd been on were treasures to him, the connection and mutual friendship and respect that existed between Jason and himself could never be replicated with anyone.

"Still like to disappear into the unpopulated parts of the world don't you?"

Smiling at that comment, he answered back out to the forest.

"Well, guy like me needs a lot of space, plus I've been through a lot today—and I think you may be to blame for a portion of it."

"No lie on the space part though, how you managed to find a hermits house like this in the middle of nowhere I will still never understand completely. And you brought those two pinks down on your own; why on earth you would date not one but TWO pink rangers in a row? I'll never know. That's all on you man."

Laughing, Tommy turned around and looked at him.

"When I first saw both of them, I seriously thought I was loosing it. This life here in Reefside has been interesting so far—it's almost felt like looking at Angel Grove from Zordon's perspective…something it took me a long time to be able to understand."

He didn't need to look at Jason to feel him nod. Outside of everyone he could talk to, even including mentors from other teams, and guides as well, no one could understand that other than Jason. No one had been a leader under Zordon aside from the two of them—the only one who could come close to understanding their leader as well as he and Jason did was Kimberly; that was due to the sheer amount that she had served under the amazing entity that Zordon had been.

"As for the two pinks? What can I say, I have a thing for pinks apparently."

"It's a no brainer why you never fell for Hayley—that fiery redhead would have either been a Red or a Yellow if she had ever had the chance to become a Ranger."

Tommy nodded and looked behind himself at Jason.

"I considered it you know."

Jason looked up at him and momentarily looked confused.

"Hayley as a Ranger, I considered her as a Dino Ranger—but that was before Conner and the rest of them showed up. To be honest, before those three practically fell into their positions as Dino Rangers, I had considered calling on all of you to see which one of you the Dino Gems would activate for."

"That would have been…interesting—but to be honest, putting on colors again is something that I don't think is something I'm meant for."

A chord struck in Tommy as Jason spoke, and he turned fully to stare at his former leader—the only ranger that had ever held that position.

"What's that mean? Honestly, as much as I feel like I want peace and quiet, I'd be ready and able if I had to pick up the mantle again—It's not that I have anything against newer teams, but to be honest I had my Zeo crystal and morpher ready on more than one occasion incase anyone screwed up beyond the point of their control—it's also the reason why I didn't let the Wild Force team handle the Sepentera incident; those guys would have completely botched the entire thing. General Gerrok alone would have probably been enough to take them out—there's a reason I specifically targeted him. Although Venjix was their leader, Gerrok was known as a ruthless fighter, and an even more ruthless murderer."

"That's all understandable, and you're right. If it ever reached the point where I had no choice but to step in and help out, like in that mission, then I would gladly volunteer and return to face off against whatever was threatening Earth—but I have faith in the Rangers of today, like I had faith in you back then. Even though I didn't trust Cole when fighting Venjix, and had to take more charge in that fight than I wanted to, I still had faith that he would come out on top, and that was rewarded when he managed to destroy Serpentera. The thing is, I'm getting older, and I've even left my professional fighting days behind me. There are other things I want out of life; like Trini. I used to think that Emily was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me, unfortunately that didn't work out; but now I have Trini, and I know what it means to have someone truly amazing—more than that though, I have someone that can really understand me, more than just the Jason of today, but also the Jason of back then: she can understand what it is to feel restless and set me at ease."

Jason had gone from being behind him, to looking out at the stars, their shining light blaring down on the former red and gold ranger.

"Someone has to stay vigilant."

"No doubt about that; but I want a family, and I honestly believe that Trini is the one that I want to start that family with. And as much as I love earth and the world, I can't knowingly put myself in that much danger each and ever time when I know there are others who are willing to take up the mantle—not when it has the possibility of leaving whatever future kids I may have without a father. Honestly, I want that tomorrow—the tomorrow where I get to teach my future son or daughter everything about martial arts; and again, I can't do it with the possibility of having to be called away. Haven't you ever thought about that stuff—as crazy and as silly as what you're about to go through is, have you thought about what happens after all of this?"

Looking at Jason, Tommy stayed still, and then moved to look out at the stars again.

"I don't know how to."

* * *

And here is the next installment of this massive story. I hope you enjoy it. This was another favorite chapter for me to write-the next one will be out as soon as I can manage. There are so many things I want to do in this story, and squeezing it all in like this is really hard. I know that it'd be possible to give you more chapters and have less per chapter, but it's not a path that I want to go. I'd rather give you the story like this than in small little chunks-I hope you don't mind.

Please be sure to Review-I really appreciate it.

Be seeing you all soon!

Divinitas Intereo


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